


Red Mist

by peppermintquartz



Series: Red and Black [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst, Asmodeus is touchy-feely, BAMF Alec Lightwood, BAMF Isabelle Lightwood, BAMF Magnus Bane, Blood and Violence, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Incest, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Parabatai Bond, Something is off about those two, Torture, atypical father-son dynamics, do not fuck with Magnus period, do not fuck with Magnus' people, in fact BAMF everybody, liberal use of Chinese because I can
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-04-26 07:25:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 63,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14397162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peppermintquartz/pseuds/peppermintquartz
Summary: Alec disappears in a mission gone wrong.Magnus prepares to tear down the world to bring him home safe.





	1. Chapter 1

He should've seen this coming.

Alec fired off three arrows, ordering his team to run back to Jace and regroup. Before he could follow them, the warehouse door slammed shut. He dropped another of his attackers as he whirled around to see what happened.

Half a dozen more Elapid demons were clinging to the doorframe and an unfamiliar rune glowed redly on the door. He was trapped. Alec swallowed his instinctive fear. At least the rookies had escaped.

He nocked his final arrow to his bow and shot the largest one, hitting it in the middle of its back. It shrieked. The unearthly sound grated across his nerves. The others rustled and hissed, some spitting yellow bile that smoked where the spittle landed.

“Izzy, is Jace safe?” he spoke into the microphone clipped to his collar.

Isabelle was running the mission from the Institute, having just recovered from a stomach flu. _“Yes, he's fought off the Raveners, he's coming to get you and your team.”_

He unsheathed his seraph blade, ready to defend himself, but there were at least ten more. They crept forward, their claws clacking on concrete, soulless eyes fixed on him. If they leaped at once, they would kill him in seconds. The fact that they were just _watching_ him...

Perhaps he had a chance. A small sliver of a chance.

One of them lunged at him. Alec slashed across its throat and ichor spurted over his sleeve. He cursed and ripped off the leather jacket before the ichor could burn right through to his skin.

A low voice growled from the shadows. “Easy, children. I want this one intact.”

_Perhaps not._

“ _Alec?”_ Isabelle's voice crackled in the earpiece. _“Alec, what's going on?”_

“The rookies are safe,” Alec said quickly. “Tell Jace to get everyone back to the institute.”

“ _Alec, what's happening? Jace will come get you-”_

The demons advanced. They were closing in around him. He might not have a chance at all.

“Izzy, that's an order,” Alec snapped, heart hammering, knowing that this was probably his last command. “We have Elapid demons. Door's sealed by a demonic rune, and someone else is here. Powerful. Jace must get everyone back to the institute. Warn everyone.”

The unseen threat laughed, a quiet rumble of amusement. “The institute will not stop me, boy.”

“ _Alec, I can't hear you-”_

“I love you Izzy. I love all of you. Tell Magnus I'm sorry. ”

He ripped out the earpiece and shut off his phone. His baby sister shouldn't have to hear him die.

 

***

 

“He's not dead,” Jace insisted. “He's _not_ dead _._ ”

Izzy knew Jace was right, because the parabatai rune between the two was still active, but she could not track her older brother. Once Alec cut off communications, she had screamed for Jace to lead a charge on the warehouse. Unfortunately, by the time the shadowhunters broke inside, Alec was gone. Only a powerful stench of sulphur had remained.

It had been only ten minutes since they got back to the institute and it had been chaos thus far. Jace was shouting at Isabelle, at Clary, and basically driving himself crazy from anxiety and anger. Izzy knew she had to take charge, but her mind was still on Alec's final message.

_Not final. Goddammit, not final._

Without any fuss, Clary had stepped up to help, calling Luke and Raphael for aid. The only one she had not called was Magnus.

No one dared to call Magnus. Izzy knew she had to be the one and she was dreading it with every cell in her body. She left Jace organizing ops, with Underhill compiling reports on Elapids to distribute, and locked herself in Alec's office.

“ _Hello?”_

“Magnus.”

“ _Isabelle! How delightful to hear from you. Are we still on for tomorrow?”_

The jovial tone in the warlock's voice made Izzy's stomach clench with guilt. They were supposed to go shopping the next day in Paris. How was she to tell him that Alec was gone? Her fingernails digging into her palms, Izzy cleared her throat and said, “Magnus, something went wrong with a mission.”

“ _Oh no,”_ Magnus sounded worried. _“Are you hurt?”_

“I'm fine. Magnus, Alec's gone.”

Silence on the other side. Izzy closed her eyes and held her breath. Her heart was trip-hammering in her chest. When the warlock next spoke, it was without any trace of warmth. _“Tell me everything when I get there.”_

 

***

 

It was supposed to have been a simple mission. Odd disappearances, a tree growing the wrong way down a wall, a sudden stampede of horned beasts. The best guess anyone had was that an interdimensional portal had manifested by itself – rare occurences, but not impossible – and so Alec had decided to bring a team of shadowhunters new to the field on a recon mission. Jace had invited himself along, because he and Clary had been fighting over something and he wanted to clear his head.

“When we got to East 38th, we were jumped by a handful of Raveners. Alec and I got separated fighting them. Next thing I know, Izzy's screaming at me to get to a warehouse,” Jace recounted. He dared not look at Magnus. “The rookies were there, along with maybe five Raveners, and we killed them, so we tried to get back into the warehouse but we were repelled from the door. Like we were thrown twenty feet away whenever we approached it.”

The High Warlock of Brooklyn raised his chin. “Which warehouse?”

“This one.” Izzy quickly handed him a picture. “Alec said there were Elapids, and there was someone else more powerful there. I couldn't hear anything, and then he-” A sob caught in her throat and she gulped it down. She did not have the luxury of emotions right now. “It was hard to hear what he said, there was so much static. He cut off communcations, or maybe it was cut off. I don't know.”

“You have a recording.” It was not a question. Magnus strode over to the ops center. Not even Raj dared to suggest that the warlock should not be there. “Play it.”

“ _...Elapid demons. Door's sealed .... demonic rune ... else is here. Powerful. Jace ... back to the institute...”_

“ _Alec, I can't hear you.”_ That was Isabelle.

“ _I love ... love all of you ... Magnus ... sorry.”_

Static.

Everyone could feel the abrupt drop in temperature. All the lights flickered. Magnus Bane took a deep breath, exhaled, and then took another deep breath. The room slowly warmed up again.

Clary stepped forward and touched Magnus' elbow timidly. “What do you want us to do?”

“I want all of you – all shadowhunters – to ignore _everything_ that I do in the next twenty-four hours,” said Magnus. He straightened and whirled around to stare at Isabelle and Jace. “The two of you. I don't care what lies you have to tell, but as of now, New York and all its inhabitants are mine to deal with. Clary, I need you with me.”

“Now hang on just a minute,” said Raj, because he was truly an idiot with a death wish. “You can't do that.”

Magnus didn't even bother to answer. With a flick of his left hand, Raj was sent sprawling back into his colleagues. The warlock opened a portal with his right hand and stepped through. Clary followed immediately and the portal closed.

Jace stared at where Magnus had been. “What the hell? What's he thinking?”

“Alec,” said Isabelle quietly. “He's thinking of Alec.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please note the edited tags because i am going to bring on the pain in the coming chapters.

Clary and Magnus stepped out of the portal to the warehouse Izzy had shown the warlock. It was quiet; not even traffic disrupted the silence. A sour, nauseating feeling crept up the back of Clary's neck.

“Bad vibes. Not just a hippie term.” Magnus strode right up to the ruined warehouse. The doors had been forced open – the work of the shadowhunters. They walked in, Magnus sending out a tiny Tinkerbell-sized glimmer to lead the way. There were claw marks and acid stains on the concrete floor, all that remained of the Elapid demons. The smell of sulphur and something floral still lingered. Magnus sniffed. _Peony? Jasmine?_

Clary had her seraph blade at the ready. “Magnus, are there demons here?”

“If there are, they'd be attacking you,” said Magnus briskly. He glanced at her. “Put that away and take out your phone.”

“My phone?”

“Set it to record a video.” The warlock flexed his fingers. Rage and worry were coiling through his entire frame, but this was not the time to indulge in wreaking havoc. This was the time to find his boyfriend. “Every spell leaves a signature, and so do runes. If Alec couldn't identify it, then it could be something new. I am going to restore the doors, and then try to recall the rune, but it would last perhaps half a second if that.”

The redhead was utterly baffled, but when Magnus raised an eyebrow at her, she quickly stowed her weapon and took out her cell phone, aiming it at the door.

“Wait,” Magnus said. “Record when I tell you to.”

It was not difficult to repair the doors. Every physical object is made of atoms and molecules, and these particles have memory. All Magnus had to do was _push_. The door reshaped itself until it fit in its frame again.

Now was the difficult part. He nodded at Clary, who started recording. Then he walked right up to the metal and set his right palm on it.

 _Everything has memory._ It was one of the earliest lessons Magnus learned. With his left hand, he gathered all the demonic energy he could sense, careful to avoid entangling Clary Fray's semi-angelic aura. The best word he could use to describe the feel of demonic energy was _oily_. It clung to his skin and tried to burrow under it, recognizing the demon blood in Magnus' veins. Slowly, ounce by ounce, he fed the gathered energy through his own body and then into the doors. When he felt that strange floral energy move from his left hand to his right and out into the metal, he whispered, “ _Aperire secreta._ ”

Something flashed and died into darkness.

Magnus quickly pulled away from the doors. He didn't want to feel that energy ever again. “Tell me you have it, biscuit.”

“Yes I do.” She ran the video through and paused the clip. A symbol had flashed out from the door, red and malicious. “It doesn't look like anything from the Gray Book.”

“No, it's not a rune used by the Nephilim. You go back to the Institute's library,” said the warlock, opening a portal for her, “and I will be at my place to refer to my sources. Text me whatever you find.”

***

Alec Lightwood choked and sputtered. Water had rushed up his nose – foul, stale water – and he was drenched.

“So you are the boy,” a woman said in accented English. “A Nephilim. Bane has always had exotic tastes.”

“这男孩看起来不怎样嘛。Magnus 怎会挑上他？” Another woman had entered the room. Alec didn't recognize the language but he caught his boyfriend's name.

A third voice spoke, the low one that had been in the warehouse. Without the demons growling and spitting, Alec could tell that this was a woman too. “你别看人家年轻，他可是纽约的总舵主。Magnus 搞上了他也不是没道理。”

Alec squinted. It was very dim. No electric lights. Actual flaming torches burned with an eerie magenta flame behind the speakers, casting their faces in shadow. All he could tell was that they were slender. One of them was tall, with a pale fur stole wrapped around her shoulders. Whatever these three women wanted, it had little to do with him and a lot to do with Magnus. He was soaked. As far as he could tell, he had been deposited in the middle of a small indoor pool.

“I don't suppose,” Alec began, coughing, “any of you'd tell me... what the hell is going on?”

The first woman laughed. “No, of course not.” She waved her hand and a silvery light shot out to wrap around Alec's wrists and ankles, suspending him over the water with his face down.

 _Warlock_. Alec filed that away in his aching head. _Warlocks._

“Now, you are rather handsome, and so I am going to show some mercy,” said the first woman, her voice carrying in the gloom.

 _Echoes. Large, empty space. No other person._ Alec let his head droop, letting his pain and exhaustion show. _It's a “scream and no one will hear me” situation. Wherever I am, no one is going to rescue me._

The second woman made a rude noise. “姐姐如此慈悲为怀，那这档事干脆别做了。”

“妹子是要我这做姐姐的施一点下马威么？”The first woman sounded just as calm, but Alec could hear a threat in her tone. “要么就依本事再论大小。”

Immediately the second one said in a cajoling tone, “姐姐，我区区一把琵琶，怎能与姐姐比较？是我玉磬多嘴，对不起啦。”

“我们三姐妹好容易熬过千年，终于有望夺回当时富贵荣华，千万别为了小事闹翻了。” This was the third woman. She sounded the calmest, almost amused.

Alec wished he had a gift for languages. Clearly, the three warlocks were chatting here precisely because they didn't fear him understanding them. Gritting his teeth, Alec focused on thinking of a way out. He hoped Magnus was not too upset with that message he had left with Izzy.

***

Magnus hurled another book into the wall. He was very upset. Already several books lay scattered on the thick rug. A few had scorched pages, and one had been chucked straight into the roaring fire, where it had the audacity to turn into stone.

The warlock flopped back in his chair. The panic he had managed to clamp down earlier was threatening to overwhelm him. He had sent fire messages to Raphael and to Luke, both of whom promised to send vampires and werewolves out to hunt demons and to locate the original portal that had caught the Institute's attention. He had even sent a message to the Seelie Queen, requesting an audience, but that ancient fae bitch refused to see him.

The other warlocks who were on friendlier terms with Magnus were also researching the symbol. Magnus himself was frustrated. He had the Book of the White, the collected volumes of Draper, even the treatises of Abe No Seimei.

He was Magnus Bane, for fuck's sake.

 _If it isn't a Shadowhunter rune, and it's not a warlock symbol..._ Magnus' eyes slammed open. “Catarina.”

***

Izzy locked down all communications. Anyone wishing to send messages went through her. She wished she was at full capacity, but her digestive system was still making her too queasy to do more than bark orders at people and running about eighteen different search programs at once.

“Big fat load of nothing,” Jace snarled. He placed a hand over his parabatai rune. “I can feel him, but not close. I don't know where he is.”

“You're saying what you said earlier,” Izzy pointed out. “Jace, I can't think when you keep pacing and interrupting.”

“I know that!”

Clary passed by with an armful of books. “Jace, are you gonna help me go through these references at all?”

Jace whirled around. “Do you even give a shit-”

“Enough!” Isabelle yelled. “Clary, you grab whomever you need to help you look through those books. Jace, head out and, I don't know, grab Simon, go find that goddamn portal that started this mess in the first place. I hear one more squeak from either of you and I'll send you both to Idris myself.”

Jace opened his mouth, but Izzy punched him in the solar plexus before he could speak. Grabbing his arm, she hissed, “Clear out.”

***

Catarina shook her head. “Magnus, no. It's insane.”

“Cat, that's the only explanation.”

“We warlocks have thousands of symbols and spells! You can't just stop looking after a couple of hours.”

“That's two hours of warlocks across New York searching in their libraries, two hours of the Nephilim looking in their databases, two hours of Alexander being somewhere out there in the clutches of some _creature_!” Magnus yelled. He caught himself before his magic could lash out at his old friend. His shoulders slumped and tears came to his eyes. _No, no crying, no tears, not yet._ “Cat, I have to try. I must.”

She gazed at him with pity. “Magnus, you're not talking about a lesser demon. You're not even talking about a greater demon. You're talking _Amon._ As in _the Marquis of Hell_.”

“My father's equal, I know,” said Magnus. He swallowed and covered his mouth, trying to rein in the desire to scream for his beloved. All his usual flair had disappeared; all he was left with was sheer determination to bring Alexander home, back into Magnus' arms. “But if anyone should know, he would.”

Catarina sighed. She walked up to Magnus and embraced him gently. “We're going to need the others. You and I alone can't hope to contain Amon for any more than seven seconds.”

“Perhaps if we used chalk. But I'm thinking of using something else.” Magnus conjured up an IV stand and several empty blood bags. Then he rolled up his sleeve. “If he's my father's equal, he can't deny a summoning with my father's blood.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The language spoken by the three women is Chinese. 
> 
> "这男孩看起来不怎样嘛。Magnus 怎会挑上他?"  
> \- This boy doesn't look like much. Why would Magnus pick him?  
> “你别看人家年轻，他可是纽约的总舵主。Magnus 搞上了他也不是没道理。”  
> \- "Don't be deceived by his age, he's the head of (the) New York (Institute). Magnus must have hooked up with him for a reason."  
> “姐姐如此慈悲为怀，那这档事干脆别做了。”  
> \- "if (elder) sister is so compassionate, we might as well call the whole thing off."  
> “妹子是要我这做姐姐的施一点下马威么？... 要么就依本事再论大小。”  
> -"are you (younger sister) asking me to teach you a lesson? ... Or, we can always determine seniority through ability."  
> “姐姐，我区区一把琵琶，怎能与姐姐比较？是我玉磬多嘴，对不起啦。”  
> \- "elder sister, I'm just a pipa (a Chinese instrument), how can I be compared to you? I, Yu Qing, talk too much. Sorry."  
> “我们三姐妹好容易熬过千年，终于有望夺回当时富贵荣华，千万别为了小事闹翻了。”  
> \- "we three sisters have endured a thousand years, and wealth and glory is finally again within our grasp, let's not fall out over something trivial."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a long-ish chapter. hope you like it.

“There is no way.” Catarina folded her arms and glared at Magnus.

Magnus rolled his eyes. “Cat, you're a medical professional, I have veins. Come on.” He started rolling up his right sleeve.

Cat stopped him. “Magnus, if I take from you the amount of blood you'll need to draw the blood boundary, you will _die_ , warlock or not.”

“Oh.” Magnus' voice was very small. He breathed out. “Look, Cat, can't you replenish my blood magically or something while you-”

“No, I can't.”

“Cat, Alec is out there, probably being tortured, I can't just sit around and do nothing!” He didn't mean to yell, but his voice rose as he grew more agitated. “I just need... I must do something.”

Catarina sighed and gently embraced Magnus. “You are. We are. The Institute isn't sitting on their hands. You've already mobilized Luke's pack and the Du Mort clan.”

Suddenly Magnus' phone rang. He nearly tripped over his own feet as he scrambled for it. “Hello?”

“ _Magnus, Simon here. Jace and I – careful!”_ There were sounds of a scuffle, and then Simon got back on the phone. _“We found the portal that sent in demons – it's near the – shit, Jace, watch out – the bottle at Pier 96.”_ Simon hung up.

Before Magnus could say a word, Catarina had already pulled on her leather jacket. “I heard. Let's go.”

***

While Simon did not enjoy being a vampire, having super speed was a perk he appreciated. He kicked one of the demons which was about to chow down on Jace's left shin and punched another that tried to leap on him.

The portal they found shimmered malevolently purple and red. Eerie sounds crackled from it when it wasn't disgorging demons or eldritch beasts with too many tentacles and eyes.

Simon could sometimes make out words in the crackling, staticky sounds in a language he didn't understand. The words sounded full of hate and anger and greed. Simon could feel his fangs lengthening with every passing second, a hunger borne of rage growing inside him.

Next to him, Jace was a weapon in human form. His seraph blades danced in tight arcs around him, slicing up demons that kept coming at them. Ichor was spattered on his jeans and jacket.

“How are there so fucking many of them?” he asked.

Simon slammed one whose jaws had nearly closed on his own shoulder into a wall. “You're the shadowhunter, you tell me!”

They ducked at the same moment as two demons leaped at them simultaneously. As one, Jace and Simon rolled out of the way as the demons crashed, then Jace stabbed them both while Simon fought off another.

“How come you can fight so well anyway?” Jace asked.

“Clary,” said Simon, which was explanation enough.

There were too many. They backed up against each other, wary, as nine demons encircled them. The young vampire bared his fangs, ready to fight to the death to protect the nephilim behind him. Much as he didn't like Jace, Simon knew it would crush Clary if the blond jock died. Behind him, Jace was muttering under his breath about how Clary would kill him if he let Simon be killed by demons.

Just as the demons crouched down, ready to pounce, they heard a sudden whoosh of air and then twin blasts of crimson and cyan light exploded among the creatures. Those hit by the red light burst into cinders while those struck by the cyan shattered into bits of ice.

Simon straightened from his fighting stance. “Magnus.”

“Cat, this is Simon, he's a Daywalker. This is Catarina,” the warlock said peremptorily. “Jace, call Isabelle, tell her where you two are. Cat, watch my back.”

Simon waved awkwardly to the beautiful and poised lady who followed Magnus to the portal. Unlike one made by warlocks, this portal kept shifting shape, like an amoeba. It also _felt_ evil and malicious in a way that gave Simon toothache.

“Yeah, Pier 96. Magnus and Catarina Loss are here. What? No, I don't know if they're sealing-” Jace covered the mouthpiece of his cell and shouted, “Magnus! Izzy asks if you're sealing the portal!”

“And I told Izzy to ignore everything I do for the next -” The High Warlock of Brooklyn glanced at the night sky briefly. “- twenty-two hours! Now shut up and let me work.”

Jace recoiled at Magnus' tone. He returned to the phone call, arguing with Isabelle under his breath.

Feeling quite extraneous, Simon walked over to the other warlock. “May I help?”

Catarina smiled at him. She exuded calm in every gesture and he felt like the shy, spotty teenage boy he'd been back in high school. “Not right now. Magnus said you're a Daylighter?”

“Yes?”

“Keep an eye out for stray demons.” She nodded at Jace. “Your blond boyfriend there looks really agitated. Is he okay?”

Simon shrugged. “He's on the phone with his sister Izzy, she's stuck at the Institute – whoa, hang on, hang on, Jace is NOT my boyfriend.” His large eyes widened comically. “I am dating. A girl. A werewolf, Maia, and she's gorgeous and really strong. Not that Jace is not gorgeous or, or not strong, I mean, I-I-I am judging based on a purely objective standard, because I don't feel that sort of, um, romantic attraction to men. Not that there's anything wrong with being romantically attracted to men, I mean, you know like Magnus, he's attractive to men. I mean, attracted to men.”

“Simon, shut up,” Magnus snapped with little heat. He returned his attention to reading the portal, his magic probing its ragged, shifting edges.

Simon inhaled a long, sharp breath. “Sorry. Maia can usually shut me up before I start rambling.”

“You're lovely and very sincere,” Cat reassured him. She regarded Magnus and her skin flashed blue as her own magic reached out to support her friend.

Jace finally joined them. “Izzy – Isabelle – asks if you could seal the portal while the shadowhunters patrol for demons that might be in the city.”

“Yes, that would be for the best,” said Catarina.

Simon stepped away from Jace.

Magnus looked perturbed. “Cat, can you freeze it in place? I can't undo the spell's weft when it keeps shifting about.”

While the two warlocks concentrated on sealing away the rogue portal, Jace leaned over and whispered to Simon, “Clary said that Luke and Raphael are on their way to the institute and they're not happy that Magnus wants carte blanche for 24 hours. Izzy hasn't reported Alec's disappearance but I don't know how long we can hide this.”

“Dude. Why are you telling me this?” The vampire stared at his best friend's boyfriend.

“Because it's better than me worrying about it all by myself here, okay?” Jace growled.

Magnus raised both hands and rotated his wrists in an intricate, Scarlet-Witchy way, before he reached out for the portal and _pushed_. A golden, glittering net shot out from his hands and wrapped about the portal. It then shrunk to the size of a fingernail, hovering in mid-air, the golden net shrinking along with it. Catarina conjured up a glass bottle and placed the portal inside the container.

“How are Izzy and Clary doing?” Magnus asked, disappearing the net.

“They have news for us,” said Jace. He stuck his hands in his pockets. “They say they found a symbol that resembled the one you uncovered in the warehouse. Luke and Raphael want to talk to you about the whole twenty-four hours thing.”

Magnus shut his eyes, his nostrils flaring delicately. “Alright. They're going to the Institute?”

“Yes.”

“We'll all portal there then. Catarina, I know you need to get back to Madzie, you don't have to come with.” The warlock conjured a portal for Cat, but she didn't step through.

“Dot can manage Madzie for a night. You need me more. I'll be waiting at your loft, Magnus. Bring home chocolate chip cookies and a pack of mundane blood. Oh, and Jace, Simon and Luke as well.”

***

Alec jolted back to consciousness, unaware of when he had actually passed out. He was still suspended over the water, and his clothes were still uncomfortably damp, so he hadn't been unconscious for long.

The chill was getting to him though. He clenched his teeth, not willing to show any weakness.

There was a sweet trill of laughter. “I know you are cold,” said the woman – the second one who spoke earlier, Alec thought, going by her voice. “I can't undo Big Sister's spell, but don't worry.”

Pale green light shimmered about him and he held his breath. Warm air gusted gently over him, like a breeze on a sunny day.

“There,” said the woman. “Much better, isn't it, Mr Lightwood?”

The other two seemed to have left them alone, or she had been ordered to keep watch. Without the other two blocking out much of the light, Alec could see more of whom he was facing. He studied the petite woman. In the flickering magenta flames, he could not quite see if she had any obvious warlock marks. Her hair was braided and coiled in delicate loops on her head. She was wearing a tight dress that appeared to be purple. Her accent was very different from the few shadowhunters from the Shanghai Institute, but reminiscent of some of the mainland Chinese immigrants he had met in New York. They had been from the north, if he remembered correctly.

Alec figured he might as well chat. It could help him gain intel that he could use to escape. “You know my name, so you presumably know my background, and I know this whole abduction deal has something to do with Magnus. What do you want from us?”

The woman laughed. It was a very musical sound. “Big Sister wouldn't tell you earlier, and neither will I.”

“At least tell me your name,” he drawled. The one she called Big Sister was the one who bound him, but not the one in New York with the demons. “I can't keep thinking of you as 'the second woman', that's just wrong.”

The woman hummed. Then she said, “You may call me Jade.”

“Jade,” Alec repeated. He let his head sag, breathing deeply as he tried to work out his options. There was nothing he could do, since she wouldn't (or couldn't) release him, but at least he was dry. He had no idea if Jace could sense his location, and hoped Izzy and Magnus would be able to talk him out of using the parabatai rune to track him. He needed his strength and wits about him.

Then he looked up at Jade once more. A little way behind her was a door, and it was ajar. He squinted and his heart leaped. It was the tip of his bow. His possessions were right there. If he could get free of his bonds and get to his weapons, or even his stele...

_Have these three issued demands yet? Is this a ransom attempt? If they wanted nephilim blood, there are less prominent shadowhunters than a Lightwood, and they did mention Magnus a few times._

As he was thinking about Magnus, Alec realized that while he was in a great deal of discomfort, he wasn't afraid for his life at all. In fact, he was mostly fed up because he knew Magnus would worry about him and he didn't want that. The only upside to this entire ordeal would be the pampering he would receive from his warlock boyfriend once he got home.

He chuckled to himself. _If Magnus knows I'm fantasizing about him while being kidnapped..._

“Why are you laughing?” Jade demanded.

“Because you're all _fucked_ ,” Alec replied. He snorted. His shoulders and hips were killing him. “I mean, a Lightwood. We may be out of favor with some Clave members, but the Lightwood name is very respected nonetheless. I run the New York Institute and that means all the shadowhunters in New York are trying to find you.”

“So what? We knew-”

“And I am dating _the High Warlock of Brooklyn_ , you dumbass. _Magnus fucking Bane_. He has allies all across the world, of nearly _every_ Downworld race. And he's powerful, more powerful than you can begin to imagine. He is literally _royalty_ in Edom.” Alec was openly mocking now. “You took his boyfriend. Did any of you think you'd get away with just imprisonment in Idris? You'd be lucky to have any of your limbs left at the end of this.”

The more he thought about it, the more darkly amusing it was. The wrath Magnus would rain down on these three... Alec exhaled heavily. “And, assuming you're still alive after my boyfriend beats twelve kinds of hell out of you, you have to face my sister, my brother, and my mom. And they are scarier than Magnus. I can dissuade Magnus. I can't stop Jace from beating you into a pulp with his bare hands. I can't stop my baby sister from disemboweling you with a dessert spoon. And I definitely can't stop my mom from ripping off every inch of your skin.”

“You think your threats will scare me?” Jade sneered. She walked over, her feet barely touching the surface of the water. Her hands were surprisingly cold when she grabbed Alec by his chin and made him look her in the eye. “You talk of your Magnus like he's some sort of hero, but he's a _child_ compared to us! We _ruled_ China! We were _queens_ and _empresses!_ My sisters and I have lived for over three thousand years, you insignificant _fetus_!”

She slapped him, hard, making his ears ring. His entire body swayed with the impact, and the bindings around his ankles loosened slightly.

_Interesting._

“We battled with half-gods before your precious Jonathan Shadowhunter was even conceived,” Jade hissed. “You think your name, your heritage, your family, your lover would mean anything to us?”

“You're the one who abducted me,” Alec pointed out. His lower lip had split and bled freely. The taste of iron galvanized him into goading her further. “If you're so powerful, why would you need to do this? You're just bragging. You're probably just a thirty-year-old warlock who fancies herself some kind of a big shot. And your sisters can't stand you, which is why you and only you are on sentry duty.” He scoffed once more. “Loser.”

Jade inhaled sharply. Her skin became glossy like polished stone. “You _insect!_ ” she screamed. Grabbing Alec by the throat, she flung him all the way across to where she had been standing earlier.

The magical bindings on Alec's wrists and ankles snapped completely as he was hurled into the wall. The collision hurt a lot more than he had anticipated, but at least he was free. Limping to his feet, he half-ran, half-fell through the door he had seen earlier. Three other passageways branched out from it.

He had just closed his right hand on his bow when he felt Jade grabbing the back of his neck. Instinctively, Alec jabbed the top of his bow over his shoulder where her face would be, while his other hand scrabbled wildly for his blade. His fingers felt the narrow body of his stele instead. The bow made contact but it was with a solid thud, as if it had just hit rock.

“你这狗娘养的，不教训你我不叫玉磬！”She shoved him against the wall and he whirled around.

He could barely see her except for the glimmer of magenta light in her eyes. Her skin – her flesh, it seemed – was now solid stone, pale green stone that gleamed wherever it reflected the light from the other room. She gripped his neck and squeezed. Even though she was shorter than him, than Izzy even, she could still lift him to his toes. “Magnus Bane wouldn't know that you're dead. Let him try to save a corpse.”

Grunting and fighting for breath, Alec plunged his stele into her left eye. Jade screamed, releasing Alec at once. He kicked her in the midsection and she stumbled aside, clutching at her face. Then he saw his blade and quiver leaning against the corner and hurried over to take them, slinging his bow over his shoulder. The stele was dripping with blood. He swallowed back his disgust. After two quick swipes of the stele on his pants, he scrawled an _iratze_ and, using that initial burst of energy, fled into the unknown passage beyond.

***

Isabelle Lightwood was pale, but she was dressed for combat regardless. The other shadowhunters looked uneasy and a few seemed downright rebellious as they took in her orders. Izzy was not giving them a choice though. At least three dozen frantic calls to the police about mutated dogs or wild animals had been made, and many other Downworlders had called asking for help against demons. The new High Warlock of Brooklyn, Lorenzo Rey, had sent three fire messages: first about warlocks under siege in their own homes, then about the attacked warlocks going to his mansion to seek sanctuary, and the latest being that he was under attack.

Luke Galloway stood beside the narrow flight of stairs, facing the assembled crowd. His pack shifted from foot to foot, but none of them would disobey their pack leader. Raphael was on the other side of the stairs, hands in his pockets, looking bored. None of the vampires looked thrilled either.

Izzy trotted down the steps. “Underhill, you're in charge while I'm gone. Shadowhunters, we cannot track demons alone, so play nice, or else I will _personally_ see you transferred to Siberia. Raphael? Luke?”

Luke nodded. “Once you locate a demon, kill with extreme prejudice. Their ichor is acidic and poisonous, so stick to claws, not fangs.” He grinned, baring his teeth in a predatory smirk. “We hunt tonight. In pairs, and don't take on more than you can chew. I want my whole pack to come home.”  
The New York pack glanced at one another, grinning in anticipation.

Then Izzy looked at Raphael again. Her expressive eyes told him to say something.

“Vampires will work with the shadowhunters tonight. We will track the demons, and the nephilim will kill them,” Raphael said. Then, with a hard glare at all the shadowhunters and vampires assembled, he added, “You do _not_ kill each other. Blood will be repaid with blood. After tonight, we can go back to loathing one another at a distance.”

Isabelle snorted quietly. “You suck at pep talks.”

“Among other things,” Luke put in, and earned a glare from the vampire.

Under his breath, Raphael muttered, “ _Dios_ , this is probably the stupidest plan ever conceived.”

“Clary, you're with Luke. Raphael, with me. Everyone, let's go.” Izzy led the way to the door and the different teams dispersed. Once the pack was out of sight, a ghostly wolf howl pierced the night's busy silence.

Luke shook his head. “They'd better not enjoy this hunt so much that they become reckless.”

“You should walk your pack more often then,” Raphael said.

“I'll do that on the days you sunbathe.”

“Enough,” said Clary. “Come on, Luke, let's take your car.”

The four of them had just run down the steps when one of the junior shadowhunters came pelting out of the church. “Isabelle, Jace is back with Magnus Bane. Bane wants Luke to go with him.”

Izzy halted. She had thought it would take Magnus more time to seal the portal. The entire concept of sending shadowhunters out with vampires was to keep Raphael and Luke from jumping on Magnus for his demand.

Seeing her dilemma, Luke said, “Izzy, I can handle this. Clary, go with them.”

"The symbol-" Clary said, biting her lip.

"I know. Go." Luke nodded at the two already heading off.

The redhead nodded and followed Raphael and Isabelle into the dark. Luke ran back inside, nearly colliding with Jace as he jogged towards the entrance.

“Jace, where's Magnus?” asked Luke.

“Right here,” said the warlock. Simon was behind him, looking like a confused puppy as always. Without any explanation, Magnus conjured yet another portal. “Everyone, get to my place right now. I have a special demon to summon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "你这狗娘养的，不教训你我不叫玉磬！" means "You son-of-a-bitch, if I don't teach you a lesson, then I'm not Yuqing!"


	4. Chapter 4

Luke held up a hand. “Summoning a _special demon_?”

Magnus rolled his eyes and pulled the portal over them instead. Simon and Jace tripped. Luke stumbled and straightened. They were all in Magnus' loft, which, for some reason, smelled deliciously of chocolate. The warlock flicked his fingers and the portal disappeared.

“What the _hell_ are you doing, Magnus?” Luke demanded.

“I am trying to get Alec back home,” snarled the warlock.

When Luke took a step towards Magnus, Jace interjected. “Luke, Magnus hasn't broken any of the Accords.”

“Yet,” Magnus clarified, ignoring Luke's glare. “I need a pint of blood from all three of you.”

“Why?” Simon asked.

“We need blood from multiple species if we intend to summon and hold a Marquis of Hell,” said Catarina as she walked out of the kitchen. “The cookies are in the oven and I swiped a bag of mundane blood from the hospital.”

“Cat, I was supposed to do it.”

“Lorenzo called. He accused you of inciting demons to violence,” she went on with a small smirk. “It appears our new High Warlock doesn't like the responsibilities involved with the post.”

Magnus allowed himself a bit of a gloating smile. “You did tell him we've sealed the portal, right?”

“Of course not. He'll only get all pissy about you taking action while he's still stuck reacting to things.” Catarina gestured and empty blood bags sat on the coffee table. “Now, who's first?”

Luke growled. “No one. Why are you even summoning Amon in the first place?”

“Because Amon will know who I need to kill, Lucian,” Magnus snarled. Magic crackled from his hands, a visible demonstration of his fury and impatience. “I want to know who has the audacity of abducting _my boyfriend._ I will have your assistance or your pack will get none from me for the rest of their sorry lives.”

“How dare you threaten my pack?”

“How dare you keep me from rescuing Alexander?”

Simon stayed between the two. “I, um, I think you both need to calm down?”

Jace suddenly slapped a hand over his abdomen. “Uh, guys?”

Magnus' magic coalesced around his hands, glittering intensely. Luke's eyes began to glow. Simon looked at Catarina, his eyes round. The other warlock stepped forward.

“Guys!” Jace yelled. “I can feel Alec!”

Instantly, Magnus dropped his magic and hurried over to Jace. “Where is he?”

“It's... it's very faint,” said Jace. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself to connect to his parabatai. “I can't get a lock on his location. He's alright. He's... he's hurt, not badly. I can feel – soreness? Maybe broken bones, I don't know. He's too far away.” He opened his eyes and stared at Magnus. “He's not scared.”

“Of course he's not,” said Magnus. “He's my Alexander.” If his voice trembled a little, no one pointed it out. He grasped Jace's forearm and squeezed. “You keep your link to him open.”

Now that the immediate tension had dissipated, Catarina took charge. “The strength of the blood boundary depends on the strength of the blood used in drawing it,” she explained. “Magnus, being who he is, will be one of the contributors. Simon, your status as the Daylighter will help too. Luke, you were nephilim and now are a werewolf. There is literally no other werewolf like you in the world. We need you if we hope to contain Amon.”

“Can you use mine?” Jace asked. He glanced at Magnus. “I mean... I'm his parabatai. I have angel blood injected into me, I survived all the crazy experiments that Valentine put me through. Surely I can be of use.”

“You are definitely in the mix,” said Magnus quietly. He turned to look at Luke. “I asked the shadowhunters to keep out of my affairs because they would never go to the same lengths as I am willing to go to. This way, should there be any problems, they are not responsible for them. Jace is a Herondale and Alec's parabatai, it won't be a surprise to anyone that he would help me summon Amon.”

“We can find Alec without Amon,” Luke insisted. “It's too dangerous.”

“You'd have done the same for Jocelyn.” Magnus took a deep breath. Then he plastered a smile on his face. “Now. Cat will draw the blood from each of us and prepare it for the summoning. We'll get cookies – blood for you, Simon – and then, once we are not lightheaded from blood loss, I will start painting the blood boundary. Anything else?”

“The symbol,” said Luke. “Clary found the symbol via the internet.”

“It's not in the institute's archives but online?” Magnus snorted. “Cat, you deal with those two first. Luke, show me.”

The symbol which Magnus had taken for a warlock sign was in fact a Chinese character, in the oracle bone script. No one that Magnus knew used that script in spellwork; most warlocks used a language they were proficient in to craft their own spells, so that their intent was pure and focussed. Whomever had taken Alec was either a scholar in Old Chinese, or very old – speaking in warlock terms, of course.

“Done,” said Catarina. She handed the bag of mundane blood to Simon, who excused himself to drink it, and summoned a tray of freshly-baked cookies for Jace. She smirked at Magnus' astonished expression. “I'm a warlock, I don't need needles to draw blood from patients.”

***

Even though Raphael had told his clan to leave the fighting to the shadowhunters, he himself was tearing apart demons that they encountered. Clary tried her best, but the redheaded new shadowhunter was still too green. She frequently missed out the first strike. Isabelle's whip sang out repeatedly, pulling demons away from the tunnel exits towards Raphael, who used his vampiric speed and strength to rip open their abdomens. Those few who managed to escape Raphael would then be cut to bits by Clary's twin blades.

“How are there so many demons and we only hear about them after Alec's gone?” Isabelle asked no one in particular. Her whip stiffened into a staff and she impaled an Elapid to the wall through its head. A twist of her wrists and the weapon was a whip once more.

Ducking, Clary avoided being decapitated before plunging her blade into a demon's chest, turning it into ashes. “I suppose whomever took him had kept them on a tight leash.”

“And now the demons are running free,” said Raphael. His hands were sticky with ichor and he hated it. His fastidious nature was squirming in discomfort, even as the montrous side of him was gleefully delighting in the killing.

Isabelle stumbled and the other two quickly hurried to her. “I'm alright,” she lied.

Raphael huffed. “Your heartrate is elevated and you are running a temperature. You are most definitely not alright.”

“Damn vampire.” Isabelle's smile was soft and genuine. “Stay out of people's hearts.”

“You should go back and rest, Izzy. Raphael and I can do this.”

“I'm the acting head of the institute with Alec away,” the brunette pointed out. “I don't rest until I have to.”

Raphael snorted, but said nothing. He knew her well enough by now that dissuading her from her duty was impossible. They continued down the tunnels to the location of the next report on Isabelle's list. “We should have gone to Lorenzo Rey's mansion. He's going to throw a fit at having to fight his own battles.”

Isabelle rolled her eyes. “I can't stand that one. If he can't kill the demons he shouldn't be High Warlock in the first place. Magnus is so much better. Besides, I can always bribe him with Alec's baby pictures.”

Clary's eyes widened with delight. “You didn't.”

“I totally did.” Isabelle winked at Clary. “I also have Jace's photos as a teenager. God he was so vain then.”

“As fascinating as your conversations go,” said Raphael, meaning not a single word of it, “we are here. Shall we head up?”

He pointed to a partially concealed access grate. They heard a crash above them. Clary scrunched up her nose. “Raphael, don't come up until I say so.”

“Why?”

The redhead was already shimmying up the access ladder. Isabelle grasped the vampire's elbow and tugged him away. “Stay here in the shadows.”

“I'm more fit for battle than you are, Isabelle.”

“I don't mean that,” said the young woman.

Raphael could hear Isabelle's heart pumping rich, dark blood through her body. Even over the musty stench of the tunnels, he could smell everything that made her irresistible. He looked away, inwardly cursing his weakness. As if she was just made aware of their proximity, Isabelle flushed and stepped away.

A sudden burst of light flashed down from the access, glaringly bright. Raphael flinched from the intensity. “What was that?”

Isabelle smiled. “Sunlight.”

“All clear!” Clary called down. “Izzy, someone's injured.”

***

Alec found a small alcove where he drew another healing rune and a numbing rune. That helped take away the pain whenever he breathed, but he knew he was likely suffering from some internal bleeding from the collision with the wall.

The place was a labyrinth. If not for the fact that he got his stele and could see in the dark, he would be hopelessly lost. As it was, he marked every turn with a small notch at a height over his head. He was building a mental map, but the maze was _vast._ It was also dusty and dry. Alec was sure he wasn't in New York anymore. Perhaps it was the silence that tipped him off. Even in Magnus' warded loft, even in their bedroom, there was always sound – traffic, mostly, and the occasional siren. Magnus' soft snores that sounded like purring, especially when Alec cuddled him in his sleep.

He suddenly missed Magnus so much that he had to hold back a sob. It was silly. They had just said goodbye that morning after a sweet movie date last night. They had gone to a mundane cinema, Alec unsure of everything that was going on, and Magnus had bought them popcorn and soda. Magnus had held his hand and leaned against him as they watched the movie – it was some silly movie with people in costumes fighting aliens – and it had been _fun._ Magnus smelled of popcorn and tasted of sugar afterwards.

He missed Magnus. He missed his warlock boyfriend so much. Closing his eyes, he murmured Magnus' name, promising that he would get home.

 _I want something from him to hold on to,_ he thought. He needed something tangible to grip in his hands. Otherwise Magnus felt as distant as a dream.

Once his composure returned, Alec moved onwards. He would escape. He had to.

Magnus was waiting.

***

“All of you will need to rest for the next two hours _at minimum_ ,” Catarina said sternly. “I know you are all blessed with the capacity to recover fast, but blood loss is still blood loss. Now, Magnus, to your own bed. You're the only one I know who won't sleep without external assistance.”

Jace was already snoring on the sofa, one hand pressed to his parabatai rune. Luke nodded and relaxed into a spacious armchair, while Simon was curled up in another. The vampire was the only one who looked alert.

“But Cat-”

“Two hours. Simon and I will manage the crisis in the meantime.” She dragged Magnus to his bed and pushed him to lie down. With a casual flick of her wrist, she had got his makeup off and into his sleep pants. Even his hair was soft and felt washed.

Magnus blinked. “I should be worried how easily you do that.”

“Caretaking teaches a lot of skills,” she said with a smile, which faded slightly at the edges. “I can help you sleep without worry for a bit, if you want me to.”

He swallowed. Then he nodded. “Please.”

“Make yourself comfortable,” she ordered, gathering a creamy pink glow in her hands. Once she saw that Magnus had tucked himself in, she placed her fingertips on his temples. “If, at any point in your dream, you want to get out, just say _dolce_ three times.”

“Dolce, dolce, dolce?” Magnus tried to smile. “Where's Gabbana?”

She rolled her eyes. “Close your eyes, my friend.”

He exhaled and let Catarina's magic wash over him. Within the next breath, he was asleep.

***

Isabelle called Underhill for status updates. “How many so far?”

“ _Seventeen encounters, mostly Raveners.”_ Underhill sounded very calm, for which she was grateful. He was an asset to the team. _“Raj went to Lorenzo Rey's. He said that the High Warlock is rather irked and wants to raise this demon incursion at the next council meeting. Raj wants to know how to placate the warlock.”_

“Tell Raj to never mind that,” said Isabelle, rolling her eyes. Raj was always rude to Magnus and yet he wanted to suck up to Lorenzo? Brown-noser. “Casualties on our side?”

“ _Minor scrapes, nothing severe.”_

“Good. Clary and I have just sent a mundane to the hospital and we'll get back soon.” Isabelle's gaze fell on Raphael. “What about the werewolves?”

“ _Luke isn't around.”_ Underhill cleared his throat. _“Magnus Bane took Jace and Luke through a portal and we've not heard from any of them.”_

Isabelle chewed on the inside of her cheek. “In that case, Clary and I will go to Magnus' place.”

“What's going on with Magnus?” Raphael asked once Isabelle hung up. “Did you really agree to his twenty-four hour demand?”

“No, I didn't,” Isabelle said. “He issued his request but didn't wait for my response.”

“So if he does something against the Accords-”

“Then I will have to report him.”

The vampire nodded stiffly. “Good.” He looked at the tips of his shoes. “Magnus is like a father to me, but he can be... reckless when it comes to people he loves.”

“Magnus wouldn't hurt people,” said Clary. She hesitated, remembering the warlock's silent burst of anger earlier. “Would he?”

Raphael looked at the redhead. “If it means bringing home Alec Lightwood?”

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i couldn't stop writing so I wrote another chapter. Enjoy! (uhhh maybe?)

While Jace was glad to know that Izzy and Clary were here, he also wished they wouldn't ask so many questions. Simon was doing his best to answer, so at least Jace could still keep his eyes closed and try to heal up. Thankfully they had moved to the kitchen so he couldn't hear the chatter any more.

It had been so _weird_ when Catarina Loss drew his blood into the blood bag without ever pricking his skin. There was a soreness in the crook of his left elbow where she had placed her finger, but otherwise he was fine.

Every few minutes, he would try to reach through his rune, the way he and Alec used to try to do when they first became parabatai. No one could really explain how to do it, but they were always able to sense the other's emotional state.

He wished he could locate Alec though. The link was too faint, and if Jace wasn't actively seeking it out, he wouldn't even sense it. Frustration welled up and he sighed, forcing himself to exhale slowly. He hoped Alec was having better luck.

***

It was a dream. Magnus knew this. That didn't change the sweet pang of yearning when he saw that he was hand-in-hand with Alec.

They were in Harajuku, him tugging Alec through the crowd towards a shop the warlock had recently discovered. Alec was laughing, free and happy in a way that he had never been back in New York, and Magnus couldn't wait to show him the world. In Harajuku, Alec stood out – literally – and Magnus was absurdly proud of his boyfriend.

“Magnus, what's the rush?” Alec asked. “Where are we going?”

“Right there,” said Magnus. He jogged up the stairs towards the brightly-lit shop. “Come on, Alexander.”

It was vibrantly, unapologetically pink and white inside, with mirrors and rainbow cake pops breaking up the color. Alec's eyes grew wide and comical. “What on earth-”

Magnus knew that, in the real world, the shop would smell overwhelmingly of heated sugar, and it would be crammed with schoolgirls and tourists. In his dream, however, he and Alec were the only two. When they had gone together the first time – the only time – Alec had been too shy to hold his hand, even though they stood close together. Dream-Alec slid an arm around Magnus' waist and kept him pressed tightly to him. Magnus placed the order in Japanese, wanting to surprise Alexander.

They watched as the girl behind the counter poured in sugar and slowly, a massive cone of cotton candy made with the colors of the rainbow was formed around a stick.

“ _Arigatou gozaimashita_ ,” Magnus chirruped and handed the cotton candy to Alec, whose beautiful eyes were huge.

“Magnus, this is larger than _my entire head_ ,” he exclaimed. “How am I supposed to finish this?”

The warlock laughed and directed him out to the street again. Harajuku was never this silent, but this was Magnus' dream, and he didn't want anything distracting him from reliving this moment.

Carefully plucking off a bit of the fluffy sweet, Magnus hand-fed Alec. He'd done that in Harajuku back on their real date; Alexander had blushed nearly as pink as the candy shop. Dream-Alec did it here too.

Magnus could only smile at his boyfriend's bashfulness. His very existence was a delightful mystery, Magnus thought. Beautiful and soft, deadly as a blade, innocent and indescribably tempting. Every day with Alec meant falling deeper in love with him.

Suddenly the dream hurt too much. Magnus kissed dream-Alec fiercely, angrily, and whispered, “Dolce dolce dolce.”

He woke up with a gasp. The tears came before he could control himself.

He let them fall and soak into his pillow.

Then he sat up and got ready to summon Amon.

***

Luke knew it was a bad idea. Dealing with demons was always tricky. But if he could have done this to save Jocelyn? Clary was beside him and he laid an arm over her thin shoulders. She shouldn't have to keep dealing with such matters. He knew she had found a family with the Lightwoods, with Jace, and losing any of them was unthinkable. He had texted his pack and told them to go home and rest. It was nearly daybreak anyway and demons didn't venture into the sun. If there were any more reports, he would undoubtedly hear about them.

The vampires had already retreated to their lair, although Raphael promised Isabelle before he left that he would have the stronger vampires scouring the tunnels. He tried to talk to Magnus, but the warlock refused to listen. With the sun about to rise, Raphael had to make himself scarce. “If you die, Magnus, I'm not going to mourn you.”

“You won't have to,” Magnus had retorted, but he squeezed Raphael's arm anyway. “I'm with Cat. You know she'll keep me safe.”

“Not if you yourself won't.”

As for Isabelle, she already had her raging argument with Magnus. It hadn't done any good. At the end, the warlock only asked, “Would Alec go to these lengths for you?”

That had shut her up.

Catarina had enchanted the blood so it wouldn't coagulate. Jace and Simon looked vaguely sickened as Magnus painted with the blood four triangles, leaving a square in the middle, and then drew a circle all around the design.

“Luke, the protector, in the north,” Magnus said, pointing to it. Luke hugged Clary and took his place. Clary stood next to Isabelle and they held hands, both girls looking grimly on.

“Jace, the warrior, in the east. Simon, the nurturer, in the south. Do not step on the lines, and once Amon is summoned, do not, _under any circumstance_ , try to interrupt,” Magnus instructed.

Cat took the final spot, muttering, “West for the conjurer.”

Magnus took the center square. “Cat, you know the banishing spell?”

“Yes,” she said. “Although I'd rather not have to use it.”

“Remember: through me.”

Isabelle's suspicions were raised. She whispered to Catarina, “What does he mean, through him?”

“I have to focus, Miss Lightwood. Let's hope you don't have to find out.”

Magnus pressed his palms together, interlacing his fingers. Magic built as he slowly parted his hands. Unlike his usual spells which had been polished and refined over his centuries, this was primal and wordless, a dark, red pulsing orb. Slowly, he cupped it and let the orb hover. From his pocket, he dug out a small ceremonial silver knife and sliced over his palms, hissing at the pain. Then he grasped the orb.

They all felt the air thicken. Luke could feel something rumbling beneath his feet, something huge and dangerous. The werewolf wanted to give in to the beast, but held back. The hair on his arms were starting to rise, however, and when he looked at Simon, he could tell that the young vampire was having a lot of difficulty reining in his vampiric nature.

A loud clap of thunder echoed around the room. Black veins crawled up Magnus' arms and he opened his mouth to scream, but what came out was a thick, gleaming cobra, black with white hood markings.

“Magnus!” Clary's eyes were wide. She took a step forward but was bounced off an invisible wall.

Without turning her head, Catarina warned, “Watch the line. Cross it only if you want all of us to die.”

The cobra stretched up, looked at all of them, before slithering down Magnus' body. In the blink of an eye, it was no longer a snake but a tall, black man, skin as dark as ink, wearing a gray suit with raven's feathers along the lapels, and a pair of white-framed glasses. His snub of a nose was nearly as flat as the plane of his face, his ears sharp-tipped and flat against the sides of his skull, and Luke could see scales down the sides of his neck.

He smiled at everyone, his teeth sharp as a wolf's, before turning to the warlock who had summoned him. “Magnusss Bane. Hssssst. Never thought thou wouldssst call on ussss.”

“Amon,” Magnus breathed out. He coughed, his face slightly blue. “Grand Marquis of Hell. I thank you for coming.”

“That'sssss our name and title, yesssss. How may we assssissst thee, hmm?” Amon glanced about again. “I could ssssmell the blood from dimensssionsss away. Delicioussss.”

Luke nearly recoiled when Amon's tongue flicked out, inhumanly long and forked like a snake's. He swallowed back his disgust. Opposite him, Simon bared his fangs but stayed still. Jace's shoulders were hunched, as if it was physically hurting him not to fight the demon. Only Catarina to Luke's right was as composed as before.

Magnus squared his shoulders. “You know all the feuds of the past, the present, and the future. I have thus called on you to seek a favor.”

“Oh, but we don't do favorssss,” said Amon, his smile widening until he was gaping. With a shake of his head, he returned to a human face. “We prefer to do busssinesssss. Hsssst. Besssidesss, thy father isss our friend, and we will not have hissss ssson owe usss. Let usss trade, Bane.”

After a glance at Catarina, Magnus nodded. “Agreed. What is the trade you prefer?”

“Thou hassst called on ussss for namesss, we believe,” said Amon. His forked tongue flickered over Magnus' face. The warlock barely flinched. “Namesss for a name, Bane. Give ussss the true name of our old foe. Thou knowssst of whom we sssspeak.”

A small frown appeared between Magnus's eyebrows. Then his eyes widened. “You want- He's already dead, what would you do with his name?”

“A warlock'sss life issss their own,” said Amon. “But their death... We want hisss magic. And, assss thou sssaysst, he iss dead, hissss magic givesssss him no pleasure. Give usss hissss name, Magnusss Bane.”

Luke didn't know to whom Amon was referring, but Magnus clearly cared for the person. However, between a dead warlock friend and Alec, Magnus had to choose. He nodded. “Fine. Give me a name and I will give you his.” He showed his bleeding right palm. “On my own blood I swear this.”

Amon smiled that same gaping smile. “She is Daji, the nine-tailed fox of ancient China, finally freed of her long imprisssssonment.”

“What does she want with Alec?” Isabelle's voice rang out.

The demon glanced over his shoulder at her. “Unlesss thou art willing to trade, young Lightwood, thou shalt not sssspeak unlessss ssspoken to.” He studied Magnus again. “Give ussss hisss true name, Magnusss Bane, or ssssuffer our wrath.”

Magnus swallowed. “His true name is in my memory and his spell forbids me to speak it without his consent while others are present.”

“Isss that sssso?” Amon tilted his head and his forked tongue flicked out, tasting the air around the warlock.

Luke clenched his fists. If Amon tried to kill Magnus, there was nothing any of them could do.

Amon chuckled. “That'sss a ssssimple tasssk for ussss.”

Without warning, the Grand Marquis's hands reached for Magnus' head and his fingers sank _into_ the warlock's skull. Magnus gasped and tried to grab hold of Amon's shirt, but his hands kept slipping.

Isabelle and Clary were screaming, fighting to break through the barrier Catarina had set up for them. Jace and Simon rushed forward but Luke shouted at them to stay still. He didn't have to, he realized, when he tried to raise his fist. They were all bound inside their triangles.

After ten seconds Amon pulled his fingers from Magnus' head. The warlock crumpled to the floor, choking and trembling. Amon licked his index finger and shook himself. “Thanksss, Bane. Do call on usssss again.”

Another thunderclap and the Grand Marquis disappeared. Catarina stepped on one of the lines and suddenly everyone was free to move. Immediately all of them rushed to Magnus. Luke swept him up in his arms and carried him out of the summoning room and lay him out on his bed.

“Cat?” Magnus whispered, voice hoarse. “Cat, tell my friends-”

“I will. You need to rest. You can't save Alec like this.”

Isabelle swiped angry tears from her face, ignoring how her makeup was ruined. “If I'd known that you'd summon Amon _through_ you-”

“I said, ignore everything I do... for twenty-four hours,” Magnus gasped out the words.

Catarina slapped him on the back of the head. “Stop talking. You four need to go. We now have a name and an identity. The best you can do now is find that Daji person.” To Magnus, she added, “I'm putting you back into sleep. No dreams.”

Magnus nodded. “For how long?”

“As long as it takes for you to recover from that,” she said. A pink glow surrounded her right hand and she placed it over his face. Within seconds, Magnus was breathing slowly and deeply.

They all adjourned to the living room. Jace hugged a still-shaken Clary and soothed her, murmuring softly into her hair. Simon sat down in one of the armchairs, his pale face tight and drawn.

Isabelle paced. “Okay. Okay, you can portal us to the Institute, but before we go: What the hell? How – how could you help him with that spell?”

“Because if I didn't, little girl, he'd have done it himself!” snapped Catarina, her composure slipping for the first time since Magnus called her in a panic. She took a deep breath. “Magnus – Magnus would have gladly offered his life if it meant getting your brother home to you. He's already prepared to die for Alec Lightwood, for that _mortal_ who would never understand just how deeply Magnus loves! So yes, I helped him with that spell, and now you have a name to work with. Help him find her before he takes it into his head to expend far too much of his power locating your brother.”

Luke grabbed hold of Isabelle before she could launch into another tirade. “Now isn't the time.”

“He's right, Izzy,” said Simon. “You three should go back to the Institute. Luke has to go to work, and I'll patrol.”

***

Alec was lost, despite all the marks he had made on the walls. He was also thirsty. The stamina rune had erased the signs of exhaustion – he would pay for it later, he knew, but he had to keep going. At least he was in a different part of the labyrinth. Here, the walls were already carved, but the carvings were dusty and falling to pieces. Now and then he could see runes similar in design to the one on the door back in the warehouse and he made sure to avoid them, lest he triggered an ambush or alarm.

Finally, after what felt like hours, he came to a flight of steps leading up. He sighed, relieved. Touching his parabatai rune, he wondered if Jace could sense him. After another deep breath, Alec ascended the stairs.

The steps were too narrow for his long feet, but as he headed up, the air became fresher. He was certain then that, even if it wasn't the way out, at least there would be a window or an opening so he could figure out where he was. Then he could send a fire letter to Magnus and give him someplace to start searching, rather than look all over the world for him.

There was light ahead, spilling down the dark stairwell from a landing. It looked to be an orange-golden glow. Alec smiled and exhaled in relief. If that was daylight, there had to be a window, and he'd be able to see where he was. He was just five steps from the landing when iron bars slammed down in front and behind him.

“Isn't hope a wonderful thing?”

Alec shut his eyes. _Shit. Shit shit shit_. He couldn't even reach for his bow without alerting her. With a deep breath, he opened his eyes and turned around.

The woman who spoke was the one Jade had called Big Sister. Every inch of her was calculated to appeal. There was no denying her beauty, not with her flawless skin and almond eyes, but it was a beauty that repulsed rather than attract. She had long, glossy black hair, and was dressed in white fur and a short, silky dress. With a wave of her hand, Alec was bound again, this time to the iron bars closer to her. His weapons clattered to the ground and his face was pressed against the bars.

She batted her long eyelashes at him. “Just so you know, I could have trapped you anytime down there. But seeing you run up here, knowing you were so close to your goal... That was fun.”

“You _bitch_.” Alec couldn't form words properly since the side of his face was jammed right against the iron bar.

“Tsk. Language. Besides, I'm a vixen.” She half-turned, showing off the thick, white tails that wrapped about her. “Thank you, by the way, for teaching Yuqing a lesson. She tends to let her insecurities get the better of her.”

Alec glared at her. “You mean you let me have the chance to blind her?”

“I let you have the chance to kill her and you didn't,” the woman pointed out. “A soft heart for a shadowhunter. In return, I'm going to return you to Magnus.”

“What?”

She chuckled quietly. “Alright, I tell a lie. I am, in fact, going to torture you. Just for a little while. But after that, when everything is ready, and if Magnus still can't locate us, I'll help him find you.” Leaning in closer, she whispered in Alec's ear, “I'll help him find what remains of you. And then, as he loses his mind, I will consume his magic.”

The bars began to glow red-hot. The woman watched, her smile growing, as Alec tried not to scream.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys. serious warning here: graphic descriptions of torture ahead. brace yourselves.

Jace fell to his knees screaming the minute they stepped through the portal into the Institute. Clary was at his side in an instant, and then drew back in horror as Jace's skin started blistering. “Izzy?”

“What on earth-” Izzy exclaimed. She yelled for a medic to attend.

“Alec,” Jace gritted out. “He's – he's being tortured – _nnnnghh! -_ but these... Clary, that mark, wh-what was it?”

Clary could not stop staring at the reddened, blistering patches of skin on Jace. She stammered, “It-it was, um, it meant 'stop', in a very ancient Chinese script. Bone-oracle, no, um, oracle-bone script. Jace, how the hell? I know you're supposed to sense what Alec is feeling because of, because of the parabatai rune, but n-not suffer the same thing!”

The blond shadowhunter was biting down on his lower lip. “It's – I feel – Whoever Daji is, she-she's trying to force _me_ to break the bond, to-to isolate Alec – sending, sending everything _through-_ ” He tried to swallow down a cry of pain, but then his lips started bleeding and there was a smell of scorched flesh. The skin around his mouth began to crack and peel, parts of it turning black. Jace screamed again, curling into a fetal form.

Clary covered her own mouth. She was about to throw up. Izzy tugged her away, her fingers digging into Clary's shoulder. Medics rushed forward to hold Jace still. One of them quickly scribed numbing and healing runes all over Jace.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” the redhead whispered repeatedly, her wide eyes filling with tears. “Alec. Alec is – Izzy, we have to tell Magnus, he needs to know-”

“He can't know, not yet,” Izzy replied. Her voice was suspiciously choked up. “I wish – god I wish - but we can't tell him, he's nearly drained.”

“But we can't just let Alec and Jace...” Clary couldn't even finish her sentence. “Izzy, we _have_ to tell the Clave, they have resources we can tap into, this is _Alec_ , they can't not do anything.”

Izzy nodded. “I'm going to contact Imogen and Mom and Dad. They'll help. They'll help for sure.”

***

Magnus blinked at the room, lavishly decorated and yet somehow dilapidated. “...I'm not supposed to be dreaming.”

“No,” said a man behind Magnus, accompanied by a single tap, “but you can't possibly expect to spill so much of my blood and expect me not to take this chance to meet you.”

Magnus' blood chilled. He had not heard this voice in years, and he had escaped by the skin of his teeth then. He didn't want to turn around, but leaving his back exposed was a far worse option. With a deep breath, he swiveled on one heel to face the person behind him. “I must say, I was definitely not expecting a visit with the King of Edom.”

“Please. You know I prefer that you call me _Father_ ,” said Asmodeus.

Magnus managed a civil smile. “I dare not aspire that high, your majesty.”

***

The Silent Brothers were dispatched immediately to tend to Jace. Maryse and Robert came as well, equally angry and worried, and when Izzy recounted Magnus' actions, Robert exploded. “Summoning a _Marquis of Hell?_ All of New York was at risk!”

“That was why he wanted to bear full responsibility, wasn't it?” Maryse asked. Her jaw tensed and she exhaled. “Foolish warlock.”

“But Amon made the trade and left,” Izzy said quickly. “Look, I know it sounds like a reckless risk that Magnus took, but he and Catarina made sure that they did everything right, even to using the right sort of blood.”

Clary interjected, “And he found out that someone named Daji is behind all of this. Do you have any idea who she might be? All we had before Magnus summoned Amon was that it was someone well-versed in ancient Chinese. Like the earliest possible script for the language.”

Robert's face paled. “Did you say 'Daji'?”

“Yes.”

Maryse inhaled sharply. “Robert. The Investiture of the Gods.”

Izzy stared at her parents. “Mom, dad, what is it? What's this investiture thing?”

“It's... it's an old account of how the Shang dynasty was brought down by three demons,” said Maryse. “Most would assume that it is a work of fiction, but the demons, the battles, the spells – those were battles of magic. As far as the Beijing Institute has been able to verify, there was a great number of warlocks born around that time period, and they formed factions around the king or around other leaders. Daji was the king's favorite, because she was supposedly divinely beautiful, but she was very cruel. She loved torturing innocents. She even designed torture devices and – and ate humans, for pleasure. The Investiture recorded that she was executed by a man named Jiang Ziya – he was the leader of the opposing faction, and very probably someone very much like a shadowhunter, before there were shadowhunters.”

“But he didn't,” Clary pointed out. “Didn't execute her. Because Jace is suffering whatever Alec is suffering, and-and it seems a lot like torture.”

Robert took a deep breath. “I am calling up Beijing. Someone there must know what is going on, maybe where that ancient warlock might be.”

“I'll come with you,” Maryse said. Robert glanced at her, surprised. She managed a tight smile. “My _putonghua_ is better than yours. Girls, in the meantime, go look up everything relating to fighting Chinese demons. I have a suspicion that our seraph blades might not cut it.”

***

“You look good,” said Asmodeus, circling Magnus like a shark. He tilted his head and studied the cut of Magnus' pajamas. “Not your usual style, I imagine.”

Magnus made sure he kept Asmodeus in sight at all times. It was really quite silly, since he knew Asmodeus could very easily kill him, but it still assured him somehow. The shadow trailing Asmodeus was far too dark to be a normal shadow; it swallowed every bit of light that fell on it, and didn't always follow the demon's movements. “If I had known that I'd be here, I would have dressed up for the occasion.”

He watched Asmodeus' eyes gleam with amusement. They were the one physical trait Magnus had inherited from his demon father. He loathed them, and was only just starting to accept them because Alexander loved staring at his cat's eyes.

Finally, Asmodeus stopped pacing. He waved his free hand, the one not holding a gold-topped cane, and a chair materialized behind Magnus and himself. “Sit.”

Magnus would rather stand, but in this place, he had about as much power as a housefly spitting in a storm. He sat, but kept his arms away from the armrests. “Why am I here?”

“I wanted to chat with my son,” said Asmodeus. He was utterly relaxed, the master of his realm. “You are the only one who ever sought me out without asking me for power or gain. And I have watched you over the years... You make me a _very_ proud father.”

“I suppose I have earned a number of gold stars then,” Magnus quipped, his nerves getting the better of him.

Asmodeus chuckled. “Yes. You have.”

“Not that this isn't the best day of my entire existence – which, it _really_ isn't – but I don't have time for idle chitchat. Your majesty, what do you want?”

“Didn't you find it odd that Amon only wanted a name? That he didn't try to wiggle out of your little cage?”

“Asmodeus-”

“Call me father.” Asmodeus' smile softened, almost sorrowfully.

Magnus smiled back. “Your majesty. I wanted a name, and I gave him a name that mattered greatly to me. I gave him the name of...” The warlock paused. The words, the syllables were perched on the tip of his tongue. He _knew_ whose true name he had given to Amon. Why couldn't he say it?

“Amon took his true name and everything associated with it,” said Asmodeus, now openly gleeful. “I think you'd find patches of your memory gone as well.”

“No, that can't be right,” Magnus stammered. “I didn't – I know his name. I know -I know his – I-I know whose name I gave for- I... He was a great friend, he was my closest friend, I watched him... I know this, I watched, I watched him die – he was... his name was-”

Asmodeus laughed. “Romantic, rash, reckless child. You gave your friend's name away, and with it, emotions and memories... all of that to Amon. For nothing.”

“No,” Magnus whispered. “For a name. For the name of my foe.”

“Daji? At the zenith of her strength, she was twice as powerful as you,” said Asmodeus, leaning forward, an eyebrow arched. “Then she was humbled, and imprisoned for millennia. The world has changed, and she doesn't like how it has changed. She wants to turn it back into her playground.”

Magnus swallowed. “Why are you telling me all this?”

“Because the only way she can become as strong as she ever was... is to devour the heart of the strongest warlock currently alive.” Asmodeus laced his fingers together. “I'd have let her run amok, except the strongest warlock living now... is you.”

“You can't be serious,” said Magnus.

“I am deadly serious.” The smile disappeared from Asmodeus' face. “No one is to hurt my son. So I am going to help you destroy her.”

***

Hot coals seared into the palms of his hands. Alec choked back his screams, but his body shook and convulsed in agony. He was suspended from chains on tiptoe. If he relaxed his feet, he would choke. However, his muscles were cramping and he could not stay on tiptoe forever. His arms were bound to a long metal bar with thin wire that was cutting into his skin whenever he shifted slightly to maintain his balance or in reaction to the burning pain. Between his fingers were jagged shards of glass. As the coals pushed into his palms, he instinctively tried to clench his fists, but the glass cut into his knuckles.

He hoped Jace wasn't feeling any of this. He would never forgive himself if he had caused his _parabatai_  to suffer this much pain.

Jade sneered. Her injured eye was now covered by a thick bandage. Viciously, she shoved the glowing coal at the end of a long pair of tongs into the bend of Alec's right elbow. The shadowhunter shuddered again, tears springing to his eyes.

“I'd blind you with my own hands if Big Sister didn't say to keep them in your sorry face,” she hissed.

“Easy, Yuqing.” The warlock, Big Sister, sipped at a goblet. She had already burned him with the bars. Then, when Alec spat in her face, she had calmly conjured up a red hot piece of stone and pressed it to his mouth, keeping it there while he fought in vain, until he could smell cooked flesh. He nearly fainted from the agony but then she portaled them back to the room where he had been held captive, where she poured the stale, filthy water over his face to keep him awake.

“Xi Mei,” Big Sister said, “how are we on the ritual?”

The third woman stepped forward out of the shadows. She was dressed in red – fitted red shirt and dark red leather pants – and her eyes were dewy and gentle. There was nothing gentle about the words she spoke, however. “I have gathered ninety-nine children's hearts, Big Sister, so we are just waiting on the lunar eclipse tonight.”

Alec knew very well that the two were speaking in English so he could understand them. The message they were sending him was clear: _there is nothing you can do_.

Big Sister stood up, her tails sweeping behind her. Her luscious lips curved as she lowered Alec down to his knees with a gesture.

“I think I'll let my younger sisters play with you a little longer, dear boy,” she cooed. The other two smirked at each other with greedy anticipation. Big Sister then leaned in to look Alec in the eyes. “In eight hours, I will send your precious warlock boyfriend a gift. Then, an hour after that, he will watch me kill you.”

Alec glared at her. Despite his ruined mouth, he still tried to swear at her. Spit dripped down his chin.

Big Sister laughed. “Don't worry, dear boy. He won't suffer a broken heart for long.” She patted his face and dug her nails into the blistered skin. “He won't have a heart at all.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am deeply sorry to put Alec through all that.  
> i promise things will turn out better for him eventually.


	7. Chapter 7

Magnus stared at Asmodeus for what felt like hours but it was probably only a handful of heartbeats. Then he started chuckling in sheer disbelief. “You, help me? You want to destroy Daji to _help_ me?” Laughter faded from his face and anger replaced it. “The only time you gave a shit about me was when you tried to turn me into something like you.”

“I loved you, Magnus. I still love you.”

“ _You deceived me!_ ” Magnus screamed and bolted out of the chair. Self-loathing surged in his heart, bitter and sharp. “I was a _child!_ I was a child, and the things you made me do... The things _you_ did to _me..._ I have nightmares still of the time I spent with you.”

Asmodeus narrowed his eyes, his thin, patrician features flickering between the dark, monstrous form beneath and his human glamour. Only the golden glow of his cat's eyes remained unchanging. “The things _I_ made _you_ do? Your memory is rather selective, my dear boy.”

Magnus resolutely did not answer. He bit the side of his tongue and forced himself to hold Asmodeus' gaze.

The King of Edom smiled. His golden eyes became cold and hard. “Don't lie, son. You loved me. You did everything I asked out of love for me. I never forced you to do any of it.” He rose from his chair and advanced on Magnus, his cane tapping ominously in the ruined space. “I have never denied you anything you desired. Beauty. Wealth. Power. I taught you how to take them. I taught you how to be a warlock.”

“Thankfully, I learned better,” Magnus retorted.

Quick as a cobra, Asmodeus had him by the neck. His grip was just tight enough to impede Magnus' airway and he dragged his son close, their noses almost touching. He hissed, “Watch that tongue, boy, before I rip it out by the root.” Then he smiled and planted a kiss to Magnus' forehead, before setting him down, his hand trailing down the warlock's neck. “Since you plainly do not wish to discuss the past, we shall discuss the present.”

Magnus couldn't quite hide the tremor that crawled down his spine at Asmodeus' touch. “I want to save Alexander, more than anything else.”

Asmodeus' smile became avaricious and he tapped a finger against his thin lips. “Want... doesn't get.”

_If this is my dream, I can change out of my pajamas. If this is not my dream, I refuse to die in Alexander's shapeless tee shirt and track pants._

_Sorry darling._

Magnus concentrated and changed his outfit to a wine-red shirt with a black brocade vest. Another sweep of his hands over his face and hair had him fully made-up and the tips of his hair tinted red. Silver rings glinted on his fingers. Now he felt armored enough to deal with Asmodeus and smiled at him. “Shall we bargain?”

***

Clary had difficulty focusing on the task at hand as she picked out runes from the Gray Book that targeted warlocks. Izzy was sorting through the arsenal, muttering under her breath.

“Do we have to customize runes for Chinese spells?” Clary asked.

Izzy bit her lower lip. “I don't know what works. I mean, 3000-year-old warlock? I have never heard of a warlock that old. I thought... I don't know. There are a few old enough to know a time before Shadowhunters. But three millennia?”

Clary exhaled heavily and stared at the ceiling. She was trying hard not to cry. This entire situation was shitty. Jace shouldn't be suffering. Alec certainly shouldn't be suffering. It was unfair and shitty and dumb and god she wished she could just find that warlock and kill her already.

“Yeah, me too,” Izzy said, her voice muffled and shaky.

Clary then realized she had been speaking aloud. “Oh god, Izzy, I'm sorry.”

Isabelle Lightwood always appeared strong in front of others, but she now was hunched over to hide her face in her hands, and started weeping. Her slim body shook as she cried silently, her tears dripping onto the weapons. Clary petted her dark hair and held her firmly, the way her mom used to, until the other young woman was no longer shuddering with crying.

“I keep hearing Alec on that last recording,” Izzy confessed brokenly. “He thought he was going to die, Clary, and he just – he was still giving intel, and then he said he loved me, that he loved us. By the Angel, what if... What if Alec-”

“No, no no no, Izzy, you know that you can't give in to those thoughts.” The redhead pushed Izzy to stand up straighter and shook her by the shoulders. “Alec is resilient and strong and smart. He has people to come back to. He knows this. I know – I know it's hard... And seeing what's done to Alec repeated on Jace is-” She took a deep breath to attempt to steady herself, but she kept rambling, trying to find comfort for herself and Izzy at the same time. “Jace has told me how amazing Alec is. How determined he becomes when he has a goal. A-and Jace will lend his strength to Alec, they're parabatai, and they will get through this together because they have to. And there's Magnus! You know that Magnus will literally turn the world inside out to keep your older brother safe. Alec won't hurt Magnus by... He won't. He's stubborn like that.”

“I know,” whispered Izzy, almost chuckling. “God, the two of them are impossibly cute. I need to... I want to tease Alec again f-for wearing Magnus' shirts and to keep bugging Magnus to make an honest man out of Alec and I just... I just want him back, Clary, I want my big brother back to tell me everything is gonna be okay. He's always taken care of me and Jace.” Her face crumpled and she shook her head. Clary always forgot her friend was only a few years older than her. “I'm scared. I'm scared and I miss him so much.”

Clary hugged Izzy again, rocking her gently, murmuring soft assurances that she hoped were not lies.

***

By the time Izzy regained her composure and touched up her makeup, she was certain that she had fucked up for not reporting Alec's abduction the moment it occurred. She held her head high as she returned to the ops room with the finest weapons the New York Institute stocked in its arsenal.

Robert saw her and Clary first. He smiled tiredly at her and motioned for her to go over. Izzy obeyed. When her father hugged her, her control over her emotions nearly shattered again. She squeezed him, wishing she could cry again, but this was neither the time nor the place.

“We'll get him back,” Robert whispered before he let go of his daughter.

Maryse took Izzy's hands and nodded at her. “I know what you've done so far. Underhill has updated us. You did the best you could.”

Izzy glanced at Underhill and nodded in gratitude. Then she returned her attention to her mother. “Well, what does Beijing say?”

“They're sending us an expert in lore.” Maryse was brisk again, but now Izzy understood why her mother behaved this way. It was compartmentalizing: their work demanded efficiency and emotions would only impede them. “Mrs Fu Ming-yue should be here in another two minutes.”

“How is Jace?” Clary asked. She shrunk back a little when both Robert and Maryse looked at her; for some reason she hadn't warmed up to them yet. “Is he still, um...”

Maryse exhaled heavily. “He refused treatment.”

“What? Why?”

“The Silent Brothers said that right now, Jace is absorbing half of the pain that Alec is going through,” Robert explained. “If we numb him or temporarily obstruct or obscure the parabatai bond, then Alec would... Alec would have to take all of it.”

“Goddammit,” Clary swore quietly.

“We'll let you two see him after Mrs Fu has gone over the information we need to know,” said Maryse. She straightened imperceptibly and the professional, determined facade of the head of the Institute returned.

Raj and Naomi, one of the rookies, were leading a short, plump Chinese woman towards the ops room. Raj gestured. “Welcome, Mrs Fu. This is Maryse Lightwood, and that is Robert Lightwood.”

“Thank you,” Mrs Fu said. Her pockmarked skin didn't diminish the sweetness of her smile, and the few strands of gray hair added gravitas. She looked young, but most shadowhunters looked young. “Hello, Mr and Mrs Lightwood.”

Maryse glanced at Robert awkwardly. “Please, just Maryse and Robert.”

“Then call me Ming-yue. I insist.”

“Thank you for coming at such short notice, Ming-yue,” said Robert. “This is Isabelle, my daughter, and that is Clary Fairchild. They have been looking up the symbol that we sent over, and have also pulled weapons that might prove effective against Daji.”

Ming-yue's gaze scanned over the swords and other sharp implements on the long table. “They appear formidable. However, Daji predates the shadowhunters, and so the runes handed down by the Clave are not all effective. Before I help you prepare, you should know a little about this warlock that abducted your son.”

Izzy's hands grew cold. There was something in Ming-yue's tone that set off warning bells.

“Su Daji was a historical figure, but she was most well-known from the Investiture of the Gods. In the final years of the Shang dynasty, the king – King Zhou, he was called – was a lecherous fool and a tyrant. One day, after he made offerings at a deity's temple, he saw the statue of the deity. He thought she was beautiful and wrote a lewd poem on the wall of the temple. When the deity saw it, she was outraged. She then summoned three demonesses to seduce King Zhou and turn his attention from ruling his kingdom.” Ming-yue paused. “Of course, this is mostly literature. What likely happened was that Daji and her warlock sisters saw a chance to grab power and prestige for themselves. King Zhou was a lecher. Most kings were. So they seduced him and used their positions to wreak havoc on the Shang kingdom. They created debauched games and made the court officials have public orgies as a form or entertainment for the king. They were also cruel and vicious, often coming up with new ways to torture people just for fun. ”

At the mention of torture, Izzy clenched her fists.

Ming-yue went on. “Jiang Ziya, an old priest, led a coalition of empowered humans – like nephilim, but in their case mostly demigods or offspring of deities and humans – and magic users, very likely warlocks, against King Zhou. Daji was the power behind the throne and sent out armies to their deaths. Legend says that Jiang defeated them after a long, grueling war, and executed the three warlocks.”

“Obviously they didn't do a good job.” Clary looked at Izzy. “We heard this already.”

“If Daji wasn't killed, then it is likely that her accomplices survived as well.”

“Accomplices?” Robert folded his arms.

“Daji's two sisters were Hu Xi Mei, which supposedly was a pheasant spirit, and Wang Yuqing, a jade _pipa_. A jade instrument,” Mingyue amended when the others looked confused. “Hu was adept at changing her appearance and she could travel long distances easily. I think she tapped into portal energy but never developed stable portals for anyone else. It was recorded that Wang was impervious to fire.”

Maryse cocked an eyebrow. “Dragon fire?”

“That might work. More importantly, Daji. Su Daji was the daughter of a duke, and was supposedly killed and her place taken by a nine-tailed vixen. However, it is far more logical to assume that Su Daji had always been a warlock. She was – is – a cunning strategist and a sadist. It is difficult to predict her plans and motivations.”

“Magnus Bane.” Everyone turned to stare at Underhill. He flushed and swallowed. “Um. I think she wants something from Magnus Bane.”

“Explain,” Maryse ordered.

“This Daji person hasn't contacted us at all to ransom Alec,” Underhill said. “I think... I think she is holding Alec because she knows that, whether we find her location or someone else finds her location, Magnus will be the one opening the portal for us. He'll insist on going to save Alec. And, um, given the lack of intel, it's logical to assume that all of us will be operating at less than a hundred percent. We have stamina runes, but warlocks are like batteries. The more she can wear down Magnus, the greater her chances of defeating him.”

Ming-yue nodded. “Well, in that case, we cannot let Magnus go to Daji.”

Everyone in the New York Institute stared at her incredulously. Maryse was the first to chuckle and shake her head. “You'd have better luck telling the sun not to set.”

***

Mrs Fu Ming-yue gave them talismans and charms to wrap around the handles of their weapons. “They will imbue your weapons with old Chinese magic,” she said. “The oracle-bone script was used in fortune-telling, and they hold power in them. I believe that Daji's magic will rely heavily on them.”

“Thank you,” said Izzy.

“As for where they are, I will head back to Beijing with this.” The Chinese woman held up one of Alec's shirts. “One of the warlocks I know is great at locating people. He should be able to narrow down the search radius. The only problem is persuading him to leave Kazakhstan.”

After thanking her once more, Maryse nodded at Underhill, who then escorted Ming-yue to the portal leading to the Beijing Institute. Maryse in the meantime told Izzy and Clary to go to Jace's room, where only one Silent Brother stood watch.

Inside his bedroom, Jace was sweating bullets where he sat cross-legged in bed. His skin was raw and pink where it had been blistered earlier and his mouth was mostly healed. His eyes were glazed over but he could still focus on the two girls. “Hey.”

“Your wounds,” Clary said, and didn't know how to continue.

Jace nodded slightly. “Brother Thomas healed them but – _nnnnggghhh –_ I asked him not to block the bond.” His breathing became heavier after the short statement and he screwed up his eyes, grimacing. “Brother Thelonius... said that whatever Alec's feeling...”

“We know,” Izzy cut in. “You are bearing half of it.”

 _::The person torturing Alexander Lightwood has somehow tapped into the parabatai bond::_ The words boomed in all their minds. Brother Thomas faced them, somber as all Silent Brothers. _::I fear that if Alexander isn't rescued soon, the agony will cause irreparable damage to the bond, outside of the physical trauma. And should Alexander perish while they are thus strongly linked, Jace Herondale might also suffer the same fate::_

“If Alec dies because I couldn't help him, I'd rather die with him,” Jace declared, his eyes bright and fierce. He turned to look at his sister and his girlfriend. “I can't go and fight the monster hurting him, not in person, but I will hold on here and I will – _mmmh_ – I will try to channel any strength I have through to Alec. This is – this is a two-way channel.” He panted, suddenly breaking out into fresh sweat. “Clary, you-you have to tell Magnus. He has to know.”

Clary hesitated. “He's still recovering from that summoning.”

 _::I can help boost Magnus Bane's energies::_ Brother Thomas bowed courteously. _::I work with Brother Zachariah and he speaks of Bane as a friend::_

Izzy nodded at Clary, who jogged out of the room to make the call. While she was outside, Jace grabbed Izzy's hand and whispered hoarsely, “If this goes on, Alec will b-be driven mad, or tortured to death. Get to him soon, Izzy.”

“Of course we will.”

Jace abruptly grabbed at his ears. He bent forward, thrashing his head, as if trying to shake off something in his blond hair. Then he started to scream.

 


	8. Chapter 8

Clary burst into Jace's room the second she heard the screaming. Izzy was cradling her brother, her jaw tense and eyes glimmering with emotion. Kneeling next to them, Clary held onto Jace's hand and cupped his face, murmuring encouragement as he screamed himself hoarse. Brother Thomas came over and an advanced healing rune was soon etched onto the back of Jace's neck. Angry red lines on the young man's skin appeared abruptly and darted towards the rune, but Brother Thomas traced it again. The rune glowed more brightly and slowly melted away.

Jace slumped into his sister's arms. He was drenched in sweat and his breathing was labored. He smiled at Clary. “Hey babe.”

The girl laughed weakly. “Jace...”

“Izzy, Brother Thomas, give us a moment please?” Jace asked. He appeared to have difficulty keeping his eyes open.

The two assented, Izzy with more reluctance than Brother Thomas, while Clary helped Jace lie back against his pillows. She brushed sweaty strands of hair from his forehead and stroked his cheek fondly. “How are you feeling?”

Jace huffed. “Useless.” His tone was almost flippant, but Clary knew him well enough to know how frustrated he must feel. She kissed his mouth very carefully. He sighed and hugged her close. “I want to _do_ something to help Alec, not just lie here.”

“You are helping him,” Clary murmured. “You're helping him endure this ordeal. You're the only one out of all of us who can do that for him.”

“I want to fight,” he grumbled.

She knew what he meant. “You can't fight in this state, Jace.”

He exhaled again, still angry at the turn of events. “I know. I'll only slow everyone down and be a burden. I can't even hold my blade with the burns in my palms.” He kissed the top of her head. “Doesn't mean I have to like it.”

Clary propped herself up to peer down at the man she loved. He was braver than he would ever give himself credit for. Going through all that agony, repeatedly, when an escape from it was readily available, just to support his parabatai. Choosing to help bear that pain and being stuck in the Institute when everything in him wanted to do otherwise. “You are a good man, Jace Herondale.”

Jace gazed up at her with his mismatched eyes, almost shy and disbelieving. “I know.”

“I promise I will kick their asses twice as hard, just for you.” She leaned down and kissed him again, this time on the tip of his nose, before hopping off the bed. Much as she wanted to linger, there was too much to be done. “Also, when we get back, Izzy is gonna share all the photos she has of you as a teen. A _vain_ teen, according to her.”

“What? Oh hell no,” Jace protested, and then groaned. When Clary started towards him, he motioned that it was fine. “It's stopped for now. I think – I think it's a good time to get Brother Thomas. If it's a two-way channel, perhaps healing me can help Alec too.”

***

Both Jade and Xi Mei stepped away from Alec once they heard a deep gong resound through the dungeon. Jade was much more reluctant to stop; the other one had to take her pair of scissors away.

“妹妹去休息吧，”said Xi Mei. “你还得养伤呢。”

Jade spat out, “这伤如何养？这兔崽子毁了我面容、毁了我左眼，我恨不得将他千刀万剐！”

“当姐姐得到Magnus Bane 之后，你就能把这家伙熬成补汤了。去睡睡吧，再过三个半时辰咱们就成功了。”

Whatever that Xi Mei woman said, it worked. Jade flounced off, followed by her fellow warlock.

Alec took the chance to try to recover what energy he had. He knew he was in a terrible state, to put it mildly. His arms were bound at the wrists with shackles and then hoisted over his head, and once more he was left on tiptoe. The two younger warlocks had stripped him to his boxer-briefs once Big Sister left him to their devices. Very sharp devices. The worst had been the bugs, however. They bit everywhere, leaving stinging welts, and while he could shut his eyes and his mouth, he couldn't close off his ears and his nostrils. He could still feel their tiny, hairy feet in those orifices. Thankfully, they weren't real insects, because the moment the two warlocks left, the bugs disappeared.

Now a puddle of blood had pooled under him and his toes kept slipping. His wrists and shoulders had gone numb by now, and looking at the amount of blood he had lost, it was a wonder he was still conscious. The stamina rune was doing its work of keeping him alert, but more than that, he could literally feel some of his wounds knitting together.

 _Jace_ , he thought with some relief. _Jace, whatever you're doing, thank you._

Even with his eyes closed, he sensed that Big Sister had come into the room and barely bit back the groan when she yanked him forward by the jaw.

“Good,” she said, “they left your pretty face alone. I shouldn't have burned it here, but what's done is done, hmm?”

Alec's eyes fluttered open. “While I'm... flattered... that you think I'm pretty, you... really... aren't my type.” He laughed, barely an exhalation of the little breath in his lungs. “I mean... not that I mind a large... age gap, but you are... a crazy old hag.”

Big Sister bared her teeth in a vicious and devastatingly beautiful smile. “I'm going to slice every inch of skin from your lovely face. Then I will cut off your nose and cheeks and eat them, savor every fleshy bite. And I will make him watch what I do to you, nephilim. The last thing he will see is you, disfigured and begging for an end. But he's the luckier one between you two.” She leans close, her lips brushing over his ear as she whispered, “Because the last thing _you_ will ever see is me eating his beating heart after I rip it from his chest.”

Alec twisted abruptly towards her, his teeth snapping. She jerked back, giggling coquettishly.

“Oh my, Mr Lightwood! I don't kiss on the first date,” she said. The amusement highlighted the perfect arch of her brows. Alec wanted to rip her apart with his teeth. She gazed at him, almost admiringly.

“I am going... to enjoy watching Magnus kill you,” he hissed.

“Ten years I have been awakened from my imposed exile,” she said, suddenly quiet and pensive, “and for ten years I have been biding my time, rebuilding my strength. I keep hearing about the High Warlock of Brooklyn, how powerful he is, how, in his veins, flows the closest approximation to the blood of a fallen angel. But I could never find a way to snare him. I was almost about to give up hope of finding a chink in Bane's armor, when you showed up in his life. Suddenly, my dream of restoring the right order of the world is attainable.” She strode closer, no hint of laughter in her face now. “If you think I haven't prepared for every possible scenario, you really have underestimated me.”

***

Izzy and Clary were already on the way back to Maryse and Robert when they heard the alert on their phones. Darting a look at each other, the two raced ahead of the other shadowhunters who were assembling in neat rows. Many of them were exhausted. They had already had a full day before the entire abduction fiasco, and now it seemed like they would be up for yet another shift.

Robert was standing on the top step, where Alec usually stood, and their bearing was so alike that Izzy's heart skipped. Her father saw her and nodded minutely before addressing the assembled. “As you know, five hours ago, the Head of this Institute was abducted. With the help of Magnus Bane and the Beijing Institute, we now have three names.”

At Robert's nod, Raj clicked on the computer and called up the main display. On it was a picture of three stone reliefs, featuring three women in Chinese robes.

Maryse took over. “At the moment we do not have photos. Su Daji is the most powerful of the trio, and the only one confirmed to be involved in this plot. She is very dangerous and also very adept at using magic to torture. Hu Xi Mei and Wang Yuqing are the other two. Hu uses portal magic. Wang is reputed to be immune to physical attacks, but every living creature has a weakness. We don't have much intel at the moment, but we believe Alec is in China, where these three warlocks' stronghold used to be.”

“China is huge,” said someone out of Izzy's field of vision. “Is it possible to narrow down to an area?”

“Our contact in Beijing is working on that. I know you are all tired and quite wound up. Those who pulled a double shift yesterday, you may rest. The rest of you-”

Maryse never got to finish her sentence. Alarms started blaring and everyone's hand instinctively went to their stele.

Raj froze. “Sir, ma'am, three – four – no, six incursions have been reported. Seven now.”

“Where?”

“Brooklyn,” the man stammered.

“Who's reporting them?” Robert asked.

***

Simon ducked into a doorway, out of the path of the evacuating commuters. Already the NYPD was out in the streets. He kept his phone tucked to his ear as he updated Clary on the situation. “Yeah, I was at 50th, that's where the first was, and then I heard someone yell that there was a terrorist attack at the 55th, so I got out and, uh, vampiric speed really helps. Seven thus far. I'm on my way to Bay Parkway.”

“ _Simon, what came out of it?”_

“Big, tusked, green, and hairy. I only saw one, but I don't know how many came out.” Simon added, “Look, Clary, there is no way you shadowhunters can deal with all of them by yourselves.”

“ _How did you report them anyway?”_ Clary asked.

Simon gestured with his free hand, as if Clary could see him. “Izzy came up with some sort of app because weird things seem to keep happening to me and is this _really_ the time to be asking these sort of questions, Fray?”

“ _Right, right, I am just... freaking out.”_ His best friend took a deep breath. _“Okay, I'm gonna focus on... on rescuing Alec. Um. I'll text.”_

“Fray.” Simon smiled, even though Clary can't see him. “When this is all over, we'll get ice cream and cookies and, well, blood for me, and we are going to binge _Great British Bake Off._ ”

“ _Oh god, I so need that. See you, Simon.”_

Simon sighed. For one day, just one day, could his life be like it used to be? With another glance at the crowds streaming past and the traffic snarl, he decided he had better go into the tunnels to get a better look at whatever was happening down below.

His phone rang unexpectedly and he nearly dropped it. Swearing, he quickly picked it up and answered it. “Hello?”

It was Maia. _“Simon, where are you? You okay?”_

“I was on the West End line. Things have gotten crazy around here.” He found a manhole and waited near it. Reception was terrible underground. Then he grimaced at his own thoughtlessness. “You safe? I'm sorry, I should've called you earlier.”

He could practically hear Maia's reassuring smile. _“It's okay, babe. I know it's been really crazy since... How is, um, how is Magnus doing?”_

“He is very possibly going to destroy New York if we don't help him get to his boyfriend but I totally get why he would do it because if it were you who was taken-”

“ _Simon, I get it.”_

He loved his girlfriend. No one in Simon's life could calm him down the way Maia did. He quickly caught her up on what had happened thus far. “You guys were out hunting last night, weren't you? Were there portals?”

“ _Nope,”_ said Maia. _“Killed nine demons. Their stench is all over the city. I'm getting a migraine trying to locate them.”_

“Is it that vomit-cat pee smell? I thought that was regular New York, just dialed up to eleven or something because it's been warm for the past of couple days.”

“ _Oh my god, yes, vomit and cat pee. That's it. I couldn't figure it out. There's an undertone of rancid cheese, sulfur and blood that differentiates it.”_

Simon grinned. A police siren reminded him that this was not time for idle chit-chat. “Okay, uh, I'm going underground – literally – and don't worry, I will run from anything that looks remotely like they might kill me.”

“ _Good. I love you.”_

“I love you too,” said Simon. “Okay. Talk to you later.”

 _Sulfur, blood, cheese, vomit and cat pee. That helps to narrow it down._ He rolled his shoulders. At least it would be cool in the tunnels.

***

Catarina blinked her eyes open on the first ring of the phone on the coffee table. It was Magnus' and the contact that flashed on the screen was not one she wanted to see. “Catarina here. Yes, Lorenzo?”

The new High Warlock of Brooklyn was less than complimentary on the current state of events. Behind all his angry bluster was his deep-seated envy of Magnus, so she listened only with half an ear as she checked on the wards around the loft. Finally he got to the meat of his call. _“The Institute just called to inform me that there are multiple demonic portals breaching New York. They're requesting heavy warlock support.”_

“Sounds like you haven't been keeping up with the city's wards, Lorenzo.” Catarina redid her hair and headed to Magnus' bedroom. She hoped her friend had had enough rest to recharge. “What do you want?”

“ _I want Magnus to sort this out,”_ Lorenzo snarled. _“It's his mortal boytoy that's brought this upon us. I don't want other warlocks getting involved. It's not warlock business.”_

“Given that it is a very powerful warlock that took Alec, it _is_ warlock business, Lorenzo. We have to-” She stopped in her tracks.

Lorenzo waited. Then he sighed. _“We have to_ what _, Catarina?”_

Only by virtue of having worked in emergency room that Catarina managed to sound calm. “We have to send warlocks in pairs. One to stabilize the portal – they shift about, very slippery, I used a freezing charm – and the other to shrink it. Work with the shadowhunters. They'll keep the demons off while your warlocks work.”

Lorenzo huffed. _“Whatever. Make sure Magnus resolves th-”_

Catarina hung up on Lorenzo. Then she searched through the contacts and dialed another number.

“ _Magnus?”_

“No, it's Catarina Loss.” Bracing herself with a deep breath, Catarina said, “Magnus has left for China.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “妹妹去休息吧，”said Xi Mei. “你还得养伤呢。” （"Go rest, younger sister," said Xi Mei. "You still have to recuperate."  
> Jade spat out, “这伤如何养？这兔崽子毁了我面容、毁了我左眼，我恨不得将他千刀万剐！” (Jade spat out, "How am I supposed to recuperate from this? This bastard disfigured me and blinded my left eye, I can't wait to kill him!")  
> “当姐姐得到Magnus Bane 之后，你就能把这家伙熬成补汤了。去睡睡吧，再过三个半时辰咱们就成功了。” ("When Big Sister gets Magnus Bane, you can boil this fellow into a nourishing soup. Go rest. After seven hours, we'll have succeeded.")


	9. Chapter 9

When Magnus woke up, he felt disoriented. The second he was alert, he was instantly on guard.

This was not his tastefully decorated bedroom. The bed was an impersonal, king-sized bed with white sheets and the walls were covered with silk wallpaper that had an elegant peony print. The cove ceilings were gold as well. The decor bordered on gaudy, but Magnus had stayed in the palace at the Versailles and had seen gaudier.

 _Where the hell am I?_ He looked down at himself and was gratified that he was still wearing Alec's old tee shirt and track pants. It had been a dream last night.

Then he heard the unearthly shriek from another room.

Bolting out of bed, Magnus gathered magical energy in his right hand and stalked towards the closed door. The shrieking turned to whimpers and whines, the sound grating and harsh in the otherwise silent space. Then the cries were cut off. Magnus inhaled sharply and prepared a shielding spell as he tiptoed out of the bedroom.

The marble floors gleamed, but here and there were splotches of black ichor. He followed the hallway to what appeared to be a dining space, although the chairs had been smashed and the wooden legs splintered. The large, round table was overturned. An explosion of foul-smelling gore was splattered over a wall, obscuring the elegant painting of lotuses behind it.

“What in the world...?” he whispered soundlessly.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” said a man behind him.

Magnus literally jumped. He wheeled around on his right heel, the magic in his right hand shimmering silver over the forearm braced over his chest. “Asmodeus!”

Asmodeus was smirking as he wiped his hands with a white handkerchief, his gold-topped cane hanging from his left elbow. Unlike in the dream, Asmodeus now wore a black shirt with baroque detailing in gold at the collar and cuffs, and he seemed taller than usual without a coat or jacket adding bulk to his torso.

Aware that he himself was not attired the way he preferred, Magnus flushed. “Where have you taken me?”

“We are in Anyang, China,” said the king of demons, as if he had not just kidnapped his son across the world from New York in his sleep. “Daji isn't far from here.”

Magnus' heart leaped. “Really?”

“We have a deal, remember?” Asmodeus walked closer, his limp nearly unnoticeable. Magnus resolutely did not flinch when his father placed a hand on his bare cheek. “I enjoyed our talk, dear boy, and I am looking forward to having you fulfill your end of the bargain.”

“Where is Daji?”

“In a place I cannot enter, physically. Daji has seen to it.” Asmodeus smiled. Magnus noticed that Asmodeus didn't hide his cat's eyes, and, in a fit of pique, the warlock decided to emulate him. Seeing Magnus show his warlock mark made Asmodeus smile even wider. “Have something to eat, and then we will discuss a strategy.”

“I don't need you to go in there. Just help me get to Alec,” said Magnus.

Asmodeus didn't answer. The doorbell rang discreetly. The demon gestured for his son to answer it. Magnus almost opened the door when he remembered he had to glamour his eyes.

“Room service,” said the uniformed employee at the door. He seemed far too cheerful.

He almost pushed the tray in, but Magnus stopped him. “I'll do it.”

“Will that be all, sir?” asked the hotel employee.

Magnus shook his head. Then he paused. “What time is it now?”

“Just after 7pm, sir.”

“Thank you. That is all.” The warlock did some mental calculating as he shut and bolted the door, not that it would do much good should something supernatural come this way.

It would be just after seven in the morning back in New York, he mused. He hoped he would be able to send a message to Cat or to Izzy without Asmodeus' knowledge; they would fret when they realized he wasn't there. Alec had been abducted around midnight, and he had not really rested since, despite Cat's sleep spells. If he was at home, Magnus could concoct a stimulant to keep him going, but he had nothing here.

“Eat something, son,” said Asmodeus, uncovering the two trays. “Mm. Ginseng chicken soup. I have missed some part of the mundane world.” He flicked a glance at Magnus and blinked lazily, the same way some of the warlock's strays would regard him. “Care to do the honors?”

With a flourish, Magnus repaired two chairs and set the heavy rosewood table upright, with the dishes from room service laid out on its marble top.

“Very nicely done, my boy.”

Magnus fought the heat that crept up the back of his neck at Asmodeus' praise. _Centuries,_ he told himself. _It's been centuries. I know better than to fall for this again._

“What were you doing before I woke up?” he asked, deflecting Asmodeus' attention as best as he could.

From the curl on the demon king's lips, Magnus was not successful. Nevertheless, Asmodeus replied, “Interrogation. Remarkable what one can learn when one applies pressure on the proper places.”

Magnus eyed the mess on the wall. “I can see the results.”

“He talked, extensively, before I ended his miserable existence.” Asmodeus waited until his son had sat down before continuing. “It appears that Daji has been sending demons across to New York to keep your little mortal friends busy. Very clever of her to use her ally's portal magic that way.”

The warlock tensed. His fingers clenched around the lacquered chopsticks. “My friends-”

Asmodeus picked up a morsel of sea cucumber and set it in Magnus' bowl of rice. “I don't know. But you can either stay in New York and battle her minions, or cut off the head of the snake here.”

“I should let them know where I am.”

“I already did.” Asmodeus savored a mouthful of grouper, steamed in the Canton style. At Magnus' surprise, the demon said, “I left a note on your pillow. Red silk sheets, really? Tacky.”

“You live in a rundown fortress with red brocade curtains.”

“I lurk there, I don't _live_ there. But you know that location as my base, and I didn't want to risk not being there if you ever came back to me. And you should recall that it was I who introduced you to luxury.”

“I remember,” Magnus muttered as he ate. The food was delicious. Then he caught Asmodeus gazing fondly at him and the back of his neck heated again. “What?”

Setting down his chopsticks, Asmodeus leaned back in his chair. “I have missed you, my beautiful boy. Seeing you this unguarded... It's made me think of the old days.”

“I'd rather you didn't.” Magnus focused on the food. He probably would need the strength.

***

Catarina had gone home briefly to check on Madzie and to call in a sick day. Then Dot insisted that all of them should go to Magnus' place to figure out what happened. Since there was no way either of them would leave Madzie with anyone else, the little girl would have to go with them.

By the time they had got Madzie to have her breakfast, Catarina felt a little better. At least Lorenzo did take her advice to send out parties of two warlocks for each incursion. Unfortunately, there were many commuters already out in the streets heading to work, so the police were out directing traffic and locking down the subways. The warlocks found it hard to get into the subway tunnels to check on the state of affairs.

“There is or has been at least one breach per subway station,” Dot said gravely.

Catarina paled. “That's...”

“Over a hundred and fifty.” Dot glanced at Madzie, who was yawning adorably after drinking her orange juice. “Lorenzo asked me to help. Cat, we need to send her somewhere safe.”

If Magnus was around, Catarina would have no doubt where to put the little warlock girl. In fact, Magnus' loft was possibly the most heavily-warded place in all of Brooklyn when Magnus wasn't in town, but it also meant that whoever that could enter was very powerful. She played with the end of Madzie's rainbow-colored ribbon that the girl wore on her wrist – a present from Alec Lightwood via Magnus – and decided. “Let's go to Hotel Du Mort. Raphael knows that Magnus dotes on Madzie, and the vampires are more than capable of holding their own against demons. We'll repay them by adding to the wards of the hotel.”

Dot nodded. She reached across the table and clasped hands with the nurse. “What about Magnus?”

Catarina slid the note across the table. Madzie perked up. “Where is Magnus?”

“He's busy someplace, sweetie,” said Cat. “Come on, finish your cereal. We're going to visit Raphael at his place.”

“There aren't any toys there,” Madzie told her somberly.

“Well then,” Dot interjected with a quick smile, “why don't you pick out five of your own and bring them over? Catarina and I both need to talk to Raphael, so you have to come with us.”

“Can't I go and play with Alec? He's more fun.”

“Sweetie, Alec isn't free right now,” Catarina said, hoping her tone didn't convey anything other than casual honesty. “It's just for the day. Did you know Raphael had a baby sister?”

Madzie brightened. “He did?”

“Yes, he did.” The warlocks didn't hide that Raphael was a vampire, nor that all of them were older than they appeared. Far better for Madzie to grow up among her own kind, familiar with immortality in all its forms, than to be confronted with tough concepts of mortality and immortality on her own later. The child ran off to her bedroom to select toys to bring along with her. She was sensible enough not to want to take all of them, but it would still take her some time to choose, because Magnus was a terrible influence and spoiled her with presents. It gave the two women the chance to look over the note, written in violet ink on parchment. It only said, _Magnus is in China to handle the problem._ There was no signature.

Dot frowned. “Who wrote this?”

“I don't know,” Cat admitted. “None of Magnus' alarms went off. I personally tucked him in, and made him sleep, so I know he didn't leave under his own steam. And I was resting in the living room. I would've heard anyone come in. It had to be a warlock or someone with a great deal of magic.”

Cat was a very light sleeper, as Dot knew. “That narrows the list down considerably. I know there are perhaps three, four others who can circumvent his wards without triggering the alarms. Thing is, none of them would set themselves against a High Warlock. Well, except perhaps Di An, but he's always been more of a trickster than anything. And this isn't the time for playing, so he wouldn't do it.”

Sighing, Cat leaned back in her chair. Then she caught sight of a drawing in crayon on the refrigerator Madzie had drawn, of her holding hands with Cat and Dot. Suspicion bloomed in her mind. “What if it wasn't a warlock?”

Dot followed her gaze. She straightened in her chair. “If _he_ is here on this plane...”

“ _He_ was here before, for years. Conquest of this realm was never _his_ ambition, from what little Magnus has shared about _him_.” They both understood why they refused to name the person. It was never good to draw attention to themselves, calling on a name of power. Magnus was the only one who dared to freely name the King of Demons.

They shared the same blood. His presence wouldn't trigger the alarms. And he certainly was powerful enough to take Magnus from his bed without Catarina realizing it.

“Should I tell the Institute?” Cat asked.

Dot shook her head immediately. “I don't trust them.”

Catarina had to agree. She loved Magnus, and Alec was a darling with Madzie, but she would never, _ever_ trust the Clave and their so-called Law when it came to Downworld matters.

Madzie ran out of her room with two of her stuffed turtles, two picture books, and a doll. “Ready!”

“Alright!” Dot grinned at the little girl and called up a portal. With a glance at Cat, the three headed to Hotel Du Mort.

***

“So what's the plan?” asked Magnus after breakfast. He was still dressed for bed, but he didn't want to conjure up clothing from nothing; he had to conserve as much magic as he could, if Daji was as formidable as his father implied.

“Daji has an underground base here, beneath what used to be the palace of the Shang kings. It has very ancient traps to capture anything without human blood, and thus I cannot enter. She is waiting for an auspicious hour to kill you,” Asmodeus said. The tip of his cane clicked smartly along the marble floor as he headed to the bedroom Magnus had woken up in. Magnus trailed after him. “My original plan was to lock you in Edom until the hour was passed. However, since you've made a far more appealing bargain, I will help you rescue your boyfriend.”

“You said she has an ally.”

“She has two so-called sisters,” said Asmodeus. With a wave of his free hand, three images came up. The first was a woman in clothed in white fur and silk, her porcelain skin and dainty features making it hard to picture her capable of torture, until you looked in her eyes. Magnus knew this had to be Daji.

The second woman on Daji's right had a heart-shaped face and was dressed in ruby red, with what appeared to be feathers braided into her long, sleek hair. Asmodeus said, “This is Hu Xi Mei. She found portal magic far before you did, but hers are unstable interdimensional portals. The demon I spoke to this morning said that those portals herded beasts and demons from other, more violent dimensions, and then poured them out wherever she wanted them.”

Magnus narrowed his eyes. Portal magic was his one great invention, and to know that he wasn't the first... At least he used his magic for good.

The third woman wore her hair in coiled braids and wore pale green. She had an elegant, slender neck and lovely fingers, with an alluring cast to her eyes.

“This is Wang Yuqing.” The King of Demons flicked his fingers and her appearance changed. “She can turn her flesh to stone, and in that state, she is immune to physical and magical attacks.”

“This is the one Daji will set as the guard,” Magnus said. “What about Daji herself?”

“She knows when to be patient,” said Asmodeus. “The place she used to be imprisoned in suffered a devastating earthquake and the seals were broken ten years ago. For the entire decade, she has been building her base and reclaiming as much of her power as she could. I know warlocks are not, as a rule, overly social with one another, but has no one thought to ask what happened to the warlocks of China?”

“You mean, she-”

“Not all of them, but enough to push her close to being as powerful as you.” Asmodeus brushed a stray eyelash off Magnus' cheek. “And if she gets you, then no warlock in the world can stop her.”

Magnus was too deep in thought to react to Asmodeus' casual touch. “Why didn't she just take power from other warlocks? Why me?”

“Remember who I am, son.” Asmodeus sounded proud. “She would have to consume at least a thousand more warlocks' powers to be half as strong as I am. Eating you is the shortcut.”

 _A fallen angel. The king of demons. A Prince of Hell._ Magnus swallowed. “So when you say 'consume', I guess that is literal.”

“It is recorded that she ate the heart of a divine man back when she was queen. Yes, I do mean it literally.”

“Well then, my going in solo will be a very bad idea.”

“I can still lock you in Edom.”

“Fuck that.”

Asmodeus narrowed his golden eyes. “Language, dear boy.”

Magnus raised an eyebrow. “Of all the things that you've said and done, and of all the things I've done and said, you object to the F-word?”

Asmodeus sniffed. “I have standards.”

“You still haven't told me what the plan is.”

“I am sending you in solo, but not physically.” Asmodeus leaned – no, lounged – against a wall. “I will send your astral body into her underground base. What's the word the human cattle use?” He snapped his fingers a few times.

“Reconnaissance mission, essentially.”

Asmodeus smiled. “Of course, that's the word.”

“But you're sending my astral body in there.”

“Can't eat your heart if your heart isn't there with you.”

Magnus looked over his shoulder at Asmodeus. “I don't trust you.”

His father raised an eyebrow in much the same way Magnus had earlier. “I already agreed to our bargain. Trust me when I say I want the Lightwood boy out of their clutches as soon as possible, so you can return to my side as soon as possible.”

“Only for a month,” Magnus corrected. His palms grew clammy with fear and nerves. He took a deep breath. “One month of my being with you for you to help me get Alec Lightwood home to New York safely.”

Asmodeus smirked. “I can't wait.”

***

Alec thought he was dreaming, but he heard the ghost of a whisper in his ear again. Trying his best not to move his lips, he mumbled soundlessly, “Magnus?”

_::Yes. Oh, Alexander... I am so sorry.::_

“Prove you're Magnus,” Alec mouthed. He couldn't breathe properly. At least he was alone right now, cold and in pain. What little healing he could feel flowing into him through the parabatai bond was directed at the worst of his wounds, but there were too many injuries.

There was a slight pause. _::The first time in the loft, I called you a pretty boy, but Jace thought I was referring to him.::_

Alec huffed, smiling. “Magnus. I'm so sorry.”

_::Darling, how are you still conscious? I swear I will kill them with as much pain as they have inflicted on you. All three of them.::_

That meant that his boyfriend knew what he was up against, but not what they were planning to do. “Magnus, don't come. Don't rescue me, please.”

He could hear the distress in his boyfriend's voice when he next spoke. _::Alexander, nothing on this Earth will keep me from saving you. Don't be ridiculous.::_

“She wants to torture me to torture you, and then eat you, and then kill me,” Alec explained. He wished he could feel Magnus' touch, or even his breath, but there was just that whisper in his ear, like the sound of the distant surf. “It's okay. I'm ready to die. I'm a soldier. But I don't want you hurt.”

 _::Alexander Gideon Lightwood,::_ Magnus murmured, _::I am not ready for you to die. I promise, I will come for you tonight. If you die on me, I shall be very cross with you. I'll even withhold blowjob privileges.::_

If Alec had any strength, he would laugh. Instead, he just exhaled with a huff, his lips twitching into a smile. “Can't have that.”

 _::I have to go before they sense I'm here. I've enough information to work with now.::_ Magnus sounded conflicted about leaving. Finally, he whispered, _::I love you, Alexander. Wait for me.::_

***

Magnus woke up gasping where he was leaning against the headboard and tucked against his father. Tears ran down his cheeks but he was too shaken to do anything about them. It was Asmodeus who wiped them off and then pressed a kiss to the warlock's temple.

“There was so much blood,” Magnus said, shell-shocked. “So many cuts and burns.”

His father combed his long fingers through Magnus' soft hair and down the back of his neck, soothing him in the same way he used to when Magnus had just come to him. “What else, dear boy?”

“He told me... he told me not to rescue him.” As if that was even an option. Magnus clutched blindly at Asmodeus' forearm that lay over his abdomen. “I don't care if she eats me, I want him out of there now.”

Asmodeus stroked his son's cheek. “You know I can give you the power to march in and dismantle all of her protection, Magnus."

"Do it," Magnus demanded, already turning to face his father. He resolutely refused to think of himself at sixteen, so many centuries ago, eager for Asmodeus to praise him, to pour his demonic magic into him.

It had been a long time ago, he reminded himself. He had learned more about himself and the world since then. He had learned right and wrong from people who could tell the difference between right and wrong, not from his father, the King of Edom.

_Feels like yesterday._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyone get the feeling that Asmodeus and Magnus have a Very Complicated Past? Because I keep getting the strangest feeling that Asmodeus is... besotted (for lack of a better word) with his beautiful boy.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did anyone ask for BAMF Magnus? Because we have a preview of BAMF Magnus here.

Izzy had to respect her parents for being able to stay cool. Maryse and Robert might have been estranged for a long time, but they had never had difficulty working together in a crisis. Izzy thanked the Angel that they were still as in sync as ever and led the Institute through what she was sure would be called the Demon Invasion of Brooklyn.

This was possibly one of the worst crises they had ever had to manage.

Brooklyn was in utter chaos. Outside, police and mundanes were crowding the streets, the former herding the latter towards supposedly safe areas. The entire subway system had been locked down, and mundane emergency response teams flooded the stations. Unfortunately, that just meant that demons had plenty to feast on.

The priority however was sealing the portals. Thanks to Simon's early reports, over a dozen were sealed before many demons had emerged, but the moment it hit 6.30am, demon portals sprung up like mushrooms.

Shadowhunters, many called in from the other Institutes, had gone underground via tunnels. Vampires led the way, and werewolves helped track the location of the portals because they emitted a high frequency sound that even Shadowhunters couldn't hear. They fought off demons while pairs of warlocks worked on sealing the portals. Then, at seven o'clock, Meliorn came calling, sent by the Seelie queen, and that meant more hands on deck to both battle and seal off the breaches. Lorenzo Rey insisted on staying at the Institute to 'monitor the situation'. Privately, Izzy just thought that the pompous, greasy warlock just wanted to stay out of the filthy tunnels and keep his hands clean of demon gore. Robert somehow managed to flatter him and also set the new High Warlock the task of portaling teams in and out of the tunnel system.

“If Alec hadn't set up the council with the Downworlders,” Izzy said to her mother in an aside, “this wouldn't have been possible.”

She crossed out another breach that had been sealed. Already more than seventy incursions had been dealt with. She updated the map that was on display: incursion sites were marked in red, sealed breaches in purple. Another screen near her had the names of every single Shadowhunter along with names of the Downworlders they were working with.

Maryse exhaled heavily, but she wore a thin smile. “I don't know how we would be able to hide any of this.”

“It'll be reported as a terrorist attack.” Maia, Simon's werewolf girlfriend, strode over. She was wearing a large tee shirt and short shorts, her feet bare, looking as if she was at home. This must be her stashed outfit. Simon was right behind her, looking a little worse for wear. “Our warlock partners, Locke and Raudha? They're out of juice. We need another pair.”

Izzy's fingers danced over the list of names. “I don't have another pair at the moment. Why don't you two take a fifteen-minute break? You've been chasing demons since last night.”

Simon shrugged. “Sounds good. Can we go check on Jace? I'm sure he's going a bit insane not being able to fight.”

“Sure.” Izzy knew Simon wanted to check on Jace for Clary, who was currently out with Underhill and Eli. She herself would rather be in there with Jace, but she was needed out here.

“Come on, fangboy,” Maia said. “Later, Isabelle.”

Despite not knowing Maia well, Izzy liked what she saw of her. She wasn't self-conscious, she was intelligent as hell, and she clearly cared for Simon. “Alright. Be careful.”

They were managing the crisis. Izzy was thankful that her parents were giving the orders. She wouldn't have been able to hold it all together. Was this how Alec felt all the time?

“Any update on Magnus?” Robert asked, _sotto voce_.

Izzy shook her head. “China, as far as we know.”

“Hopefully Ming-yue can get back to us soon. Bad enough that my son was taken.” Robert squeezed Izzy's shoulder before wading right back into the thick of action.

***

It had been too long since Magnus felt this buzzing sensation under his skin. Asmodeus was only giving him a little taste, just a touch of nitro for the engine, but it was a sensation that he hadn't felt in a very long time.

The last time he felt anywhere near this euphoric was on that one occasion when he hung out with Al Capone. Ground komodo scale and cocaine with a touch of faerie dust. It had been a mind-bending high, but the crash afterwards put Magnus off of cocaine.

But _this..._ The taste of Asmodeus' power was twice as good. Its sheer potency thrummed in his veins and sparked along his nerves, dancing through his body as he absorbed it. Unlike drugs, his body didn't reject Asmodeus' demonic magic.

Magnus knew from experience that the comedown wouldn't be a sudden fall the way it had been with the spiked coke, but the craving would be worse. He would feel the itch under his skin, in his muscles and bones. He would have to deal with the sense of emptiness once his father's magic had been used up. It had taken so much effort of will back then to keep himself from running back to Asmodeus.

If not for Alec, Magnus wouldn't have considered this option at all. Once was bad enough.

But here he was in Asmodeus' embrace, mouth slack, eyes rolling back in his head, his heart struggling to keep up. His fingers dug into his father's shirt and the bedspread while demonic magic was poured down his throat in an endless stream.

It was bad for him.

It felt sublime.

Asmodeus laid the warlock down on the bed before leaving the room. Time slowed to a crawl as Magnus' thoughts raced. He came up with strategies and discarded them in the space of heartbeats. No matter how Asmodeus promised that the power he gave to Magnus would help him save Alec, Magnus didn't believe it would be enough. He knew better than to trust his father completely.

Daji had found the perfect place for her base. There were no exits at all, and each of the nine levels were mazes marked with dozens of deadly traps and ancient runes that not even Magnus recognized.

Then his thoughts skidded to a stop.

_How could I have forgotten that?_

He was sprinting out of the room before he realized he had got off the bed. “Asmodeus!”

“Magnus, what is it?” Asmodeus had conjured up a glowing model of Daji's stronghold, based on what Magnus had shared with him.

“How did you get out of Edom?” Magnus demanded. Energy crackled from his shoulders down to his fingertips, sending out golden and blue sparks. “Who released you?”

Asmodeus smiled. “You did.”

The warlock stared at him. Then his scowl deepened and he fired a blast of magic at his father. “That's a lie. I sent you there myself. I would never have released you.”

“You would never do so of your own will,” said Asmodeus, “but you called on a friend of mine. And they thought it'd be good to let me know that my son was in urgent need of help.”

Magnus could feel his face pale. “Amon.”

Asmodeus stood up slowly, leaning on his cane. “You really should have cast the banishing spell at the end of the summoning, dear boy. Did you not think that they left far too easily? Careless, careless.” Asmodeus shook a finger teasingly, his tone light and playful. The demon circled Magnus and then stopped beside him, whispering, “You opened the door, dear son. I merely invited myself to the party.”

“What do you want?”

“What do I want?” The King of Demons laughed softly and came round to stand in front of Magnus. He chucked his son under the chin. “For you to reign by my side as you are meant to.”

Magnus couldn't breathe properly. “That'll never happen.”

Asmodeus chuckled. “I can be persuasive. And you've given me your word – you will stay by my side for a month.” He trailed his fingers down his son's neck. “What a month we are going to have, dear child.”

Incensed, Magnus slapped his father's hand aside. “I am going to save my boyfriend without your help. Take your power back.”

“A deal is a deal. You've shaken hands with _this_ demon, Magnus Bane, and you are bound to honor your word.”

Gritting his teeth, Magnus said, “Fine. I will honor my word. But I will not get any more help from you.” His fingers twitched with magic and he shook it off. “I'll get people I can trust.”

Asmodeus waved his hands and a choker closed around Magnus' neck. A heavy pendant sat on the hollow of his throat. “That's for when you need me, dear boy.” The choker tightened a little and the pendant seared into Magnus' skin. Asmodeus advanced on his son until his hot breath dusted over Magnus' face. Magic tingled over his lips. “And, just to show I love you, here's a little top-up before you go.”

***

“All the breaches are sealed,” Raj reported smugly, as if he had been the one to seal them. Lorenzo Rey behind him looked inordinately satisfied as well.

Naomi rolled her eyes and stepped forward. “The breaches are closed, but the demons are still around. Most of the warlocks are drained and there are many casualties.”

“Bring in those who are most wounded first. We will battle precinct by pre-” Maryse stopped mid-word when a portal began to open on a facing wall. “Red alert.”

A figure coalesced in the portal. All the shadowhunters drew their weapons and positioned themselves in a loose semicircle around the portal. Izzy angled her staff and crouched, ready to pounce.

A familiar figure strode through, his expression unreadable. Stunned, Izzy hastened forward to hug him. “Magnus? I thought you've gone to China.”

“I did.” The warlock nodded at Maryse and Robert. “I know where Alec is being held.”

Suddenly another person pushed through the crowd. Lorenzo Rey was glowering. “You! You and your boytoy has led to this – this disaster! Do you even realize how many warlocks have been trying to clean up your mess?”

“All of them,” Magnus snapped. “But I have been cleaning up their messes for over a century. They _owe_ me this much. And you should've been monitoring the city's wards, _High Warlock_.”

Maryse hurried down the steps. “Magnus. How is my boy?”

“He's alive and conscious.” He could offer no comfort beyond those words. Maryse visibly paled, but rallied herself. Magnus grasped Izzy's arm. “I need fighters to come with me on this rescue mission.”

Now Robert joined them. “I can't let anyone go with you. We have a crisis here.”

“What crisis?”

“Demon portals.” Izzy was resolute. “Everyone's been fighting to close them.”

Magnus shut his eyes briefly. Everyone felt the rush of power pass through them, like an icy breeze. Then he opened his eyes. “I don't sense demon portals. They're all sealed.”

“Yes, but demons have overrun the tunnels,” Izzy said. Since when could Magnus sense portals that easily? “Our people and Downworlders are being run ragged. I don't even know how many casualties there are. And some mundanes have seen the demons.”

The warlock looked conflicted for a second. Then he motioned to the portal and it flickered. “I'll deal with the demons.”

“Are you insane? You're just one warlock,” Lorenzo protested.

“Magnus, you can't do that alone,” said Maryse, and Robert echoed her.

Izzy heard Magnus mutter, “I do _not_ have time for this.” Then the warlock gathered a ball of pink, cloudy energy in front of his chest and _pushed_ , scattering it. He grabbed Izzy's hand and snapped his fingers before her eyes. “Not you.”

“Not me what- Oh my god. Magnus, what have you done?”

The warlock was utterly unconcerned that everyone around them had collapsed into a small heap where they stood. “Put them to sleep.”

“What?”

Magnus pulled her after him. “I will kill the demons and then we will go to China to save Alec.”

“Just the two of us?” Izzy shook her hand free of Magnus' grip. “At least grab Maia and Simon, they're in Jace's room.”

The warlock made a frustrated sound, but followed Izzy to Jace's bedroom. As they opened the door, Izzy was flung aside. She landed with a grunt.

Brother Thomas had a seraph blade in hand and charged at Magnus Bane. _::Demonspawn!::_

“Not now.” Magnus waved his left hand and sent the Silent Brother sprawling into the hallway. He then magicked the door shut and seared a locking rune on it.

On the far side of the room, Simon and Maia gaped at them.

“What the hell just happened?” Jace demanded, sitting up in bed. “One second he was healing Alec through me, the next he said he could sense evil coming here, and then he attacked you?”

Magnus conjured up a portal. “Jace, are you dressed for combat?”

“Yes.”

“Good. All four of you are coming with me.”

“Where are we going?” Maia asked, but Magnus was already through the portal.

Izzy tensed her jaw, then followed the warlock.

Simon glanced at Maia and Jace. Then he nodded. “Magnus doesn't usually make demands of us.”

Jace had clambered out of his bed, his knees slightly shaky. “I'll go wherever he wants us to go to save Alec. Come on.”

***

They landed in an open field. It was bright and sunny.

“Where are we?” Izzy hid her whip around her wrist before anyone mundane could notice. Most of them were staring at their phones, probably to read updates on the 'terrorist attack' on the subway.

Maia looked around. “This is Prospect Park.”

“Sleep.” The warlock sent out that same pink cloud again, except the spell avoided those he had taken along with him.

The people who had been around them all fell over.

Jace's eyes were wide. “Whoa. When did you learn to do that?”

Ignoring the question, Magnus took a step forward and then started moving his arms in a swirling motion in front of him, as if shaping a large ball. After a while, they could see a globe made of dark red energy forming.

“That does not look good,” Simon muttered, holding Maia's hand.

Maia agreed. “It smells evil.”

The warlock grunted with effort and shoved the orb into the ground. The moment it was entirely absorbed, a shockwave shot out, making the earth under their feet shake and tremble. Overhead, clouds began to amass, like some movie special effect for doomsday. The sunny day soon became severely overcast.

“Magnus, what are you doing?”

Another portal shimmered into existence. Dot and Catarina pelted out of it, together with Clary. Dot looked furious. Clary hurried to Jace's side and they linked hands.

“Magnus, what has he done to you?” Dot demanded. “Have you gone mad?”

The warlock ignored her as well. Closing his eyes, he drew himself to his fullest height. Dark red lines sketched over his skin, almost like fresh wounds. When he opened his eyes again, they were glowing golden.

“Come,” he said. His voice was amplified, deepened. Other than the two warlocks, everyone was confused. Dot yelled at him to stop, but Magnus didn't even look at her. Instead, he stretched out his right hand, palm up and fingers outstretched. “The Prince of Cats command you, legions of Edom! _Come!”_

Suddenly, they heard thunder rumbling, except the sound was coming from underground. Then the wind picked up drastically.

Clary turned to Catarina. “The Prince of Cats?” she yelled, but it was Dot who answered.

“That was Magnus' title when he was living with his father!” she shouted over the now-deafening wind.

“I didn't know Magnus is this powerful!” Simon was trying to shield his eyes.

“He isn't! He's terrible with weather magic!” Catarina replied. Her skin flashed blue. “This isn't his own power!”

Before she could elaborate, the ground exploded open and demons of all kinds crawled out. They surrounded the group. There had to be at least three hundred of them, Izzy estimated.

The wind died down.

The three shadowhunters each armed themselves. Maia hunched over, her eyes glowing as she prepared to wolf out. Simon bared his fangs.

One of the demons – a shapeshifting Eidolon – approached the warlock. “We have come, my prince. How may we lowly ones serve you?”

 


	11. Chapter 11

While Magnus surveyed the assembled demons, Clary made sure to stay close to Jace. Despite the brave face he had put on, it was clear that he was suffering the aftereffects of whatever Alec had gone through. The others were mainly focused on the demons, tense and frightened.

Magnus stared at the Eidolon for a long moment. Then he tilted his head, graceful as a lion. “Kneel before your prince.”

To Clary's surprise, the demon knelt and bowed its head. The other demons – the humanoid ones – knelt and bowed as well, and the rest pressed their bodies close to the ground. The wind died down and it was eerily silent.

Beside her, Dot muttered, “Damn fool.”

“Dot, what's going on?” Clary asked in a muted whisper.

The female warlock kept her eyes on the elegantly dressed warlock now scanning the horde of demons. “It's not Magnus in the driver's seat.”

Clary had to stare at Dot. “Then... then who is?”

“You spoke for them,” Magnus said to the first demon who had come to him. “What is your name?”

“Kavao, your royal highness.”

“Kavao,” Magnus repeated, his tone nearly caressing. “Kavao. You served my father and me, did you not? Centuries ago.”

The demon dared to look up at the warlock. “Yes, your royal highness.”

“Will you still serve me with that same loyalty?”

“Yes, your royal highness.”

“Good,” Magnus continued, still in that fond, tender manner. “I will have your fealty.” He swept his gaze over the entire assembly. “All of you.”

There was a susurration.

Smiling, Magnus cupped Kavao's cheek. “Go and kill every demon in the tunnels,” he ordered. “Those of you who can, change the mundanes' memories of this day – the subway system broke down and there was a lot of inconvenience, that is all.”

The Eidolon demon shivered. “My prince, I... I don't know if we can do all of that.”

“Of _course_ you can,” Magnus crooned. Then a chilling energy lashed out all around him, striking even his friends. Clary was nearly thrown off her feet. “Because if you don't, I will burn every last one of you in this very field. Slowly enough that you will feel it.”

Many of the demons recoiled. Even from their inhuman faces, Clary could read fear and apprehension.

The warlock wasn't done. “When you're done, return to Edom. If you remain, I will kill you. That is the mercy I give you for your service.”

A demon in the middle of those gathered stood. “Why should any of us listen to you? This plane has everything we need. You may be the prince of Edom, but this _isn't_ Edom. I refuse your command.”

Magnus raised his left fist over his head. Then he flicked his hand open. The pendant on his choker glowed.

A narrow shaft of sunlight fell precisely where the complainer was standing. He shrieked and tried to escape, but no matter how he ran, the light followed him, until he caught on fire and was entirely consumed.

Clary felt sick. It was one thing to kill demons with a single strike, but to _play_ with them before killing them...

Magnus raised an eyebrow at the silent horde. “Questions?”

When the demons stayed on their knees, the warlock clapped his hands briskly. “Leave.”

The demons fled. Magnus returned to his friends, radiating confidence.

Despite his frailty, Jace was the first to speak. “What the fuck was that about?”

“That was me sending out demons to do my bidding,” Magnus replied. “If you're not happy about it, feel free to stay here while I rescue my boyfriend.”

This close, Clary could see dots of gold and red darting all over Magnus, like tiny fish swimming under the warlock's skin. He carried himself differently too. In the past, Clary wouldn't hesitate to hug Magnus, but now she just wanted to stay far away from him.

“Dot and I are staying here,” Catarina Loss announced, a silvery glow wrapping about her and Dot. “I don't trust you right now.”

“I wouldn't trust me right now either.” Magnus shivered and the flecks of light faded. “Madzie – she's safe?”

“Very.”

“Good.” Magnus' breath deepened. He was obviously trembling now. “I leave – I leave Brooklyn to your care. Both of you.”

Dot stepped forward, as if to touch him, but Magnus shied away with a tight shake of his head, a hand up to ward her off. She wrung her hands. “It's him, isn't it?”

“I will be fine, Dot,” said Magnus. Then the lights resurfaced and he drew himself up to his full height. He waved his hand and a portal shimmered into existence. “We're going to China now.”

***

Raphael and his most trusted vampires were watching the subterranean entrances. Already sixteen demons had tried to enter the hotel, but the one narrow entryway kept them from swarming in at one shot. The vampires were more than happy to indulge in killing.

It also helped that a number of warlocks who had loved ones that they feared leaving on their own had come to the Hotel Dumort to seek shelter. Most were young warlocks taken in by kinder warlocks, but a few were mundane children. Raphael had placed them in the presidential suite at the top of the hotel and ordered the oldest one, a teenaged girl named Seraphin, to draw all the curtains and let in as much sunlight as possible. The suite itself was already heavily warded by Magnus before Camille had been captured, and Catarina, after entrusting Madzie to Raphael's care, further strengthened the wards.

Perhaps the head of the Brooklyn clan should resent being made a babysitter, but Raphael had missed taking care of his own baby sister. Caring for newly sired vampires was not the same. Besides, he liked having the warlocks owe them. Unlike the unlamented Camille, Raphael was a much savvier politician, and Downworld politics could get downright bloody.

“Raphael, I can't hear them,” said Wentworth. The tall, dark vampire sniffed. “Can't smell them either.”

Shan twirled her dagger. “Perhaps the shadowhunters have sealed the incursions.”

“Perhaps,” Raphael agreed. He mulled over the options. “Wentworth, you and Shan stay here until I get back. Cecily, Frederico, Adam, with me. If we don't return by sundown, evacuate the hotel.”

He didn't wait for questions. The short knife he carried was a present from Magnus after he joined the Lightwood boy's Downworld cabinet. Much as he disapproved of Magnus' relationship with a nephilim, Raphael had to admit that Alec Lightwood was genuinely trying to reform the New York Institute.

They strode through the tunnels with the utter confidence that they were the alpha predators here. Werewolves had stamina and were hard to kill, but they didn't like the humidity and the enclosed tunnels without a clear view of the skies. Vampires, on the other hand, thrived in claustrophobic spaces, and the wetness didn't affect their senses at all.

Suddenly Raphael paused. “You hear that?”

Frederico nodded. His fangs gleamed in the weak overhead lighting. “Fighting.”

“I can smell demons,” Cecily put in.

Raphael listened and honed in on the location, before leading his people towards the source of the sound.

As they turned right, they saw a ravener rip off the face of a large, furred beast. The creature howled in agony, its four clawed arms flailing about. The ravener demon scuttled around it and launched itself onto the back of the beast.

“Why are the demons fighting themselves?” Cecily asked.

Adam shrugged. “Does it matter? Let's kill them both.”

“Adam, the ravener. Cecily, Frederico, follow my lead,” Raphael snapped out. He darted under one of the waving limbs and grabbed it, twisting it all the way around until he heard a sickening crack. Frederico did the same to another arm. The beast screamed. Cecily meanwhile dug her curved dagger into the creature's side and was dragging the blade through its hide.

“Its skin's too thick!” she shouted, before she was shaken aside by the enraged animal.

With a snarl, Raphael lunged at the beast's ruined face and plunged his dagger right into one of the creature's eye sockets. Vampiric strength drove not only the weapon but also his arm deep into the animal's brain.

The creature fell with a thud, while Raphael's arms slid out with a wet, slick sound. Frederico and Cecily both just stared, aghast.

Adam returned, having dispatched of the ravener. He saw the goop coating Rapahel's arm and hand. “Ew. Welp, that suit's a goner.”

Raphael himself was grossed out. “Any chance we have disinfectant in the hotel?”

***

 _How long has it been since Magnus came?_ Alec had lost track of time. His arms were entirely numb and cold, and he could not feel any healing coming through the bond. Either Jace had stopped the process, or something had happened to intercept their connection.

At least he wasn't actively hemorrhaging to death.

_Glass half full._

He hoped Magnus wouldn't show up, guns blazing. That Big Sister might appear to not be entirely there in the head, but she was not insane. She was a sadist with a plan. All the torture and the games – she did it for _fun_. Not even Valentine was that psychopathic.

_Actually, scratch that. Valentine was batshit insane._

He let his head droop further when he heard sound approaching, feigning complete unconsciousness.

“You don't have to pretend.” Big Sister tilted up Alec's face with two fingers. “I know when someone is truly out of it. Besides, we now have guests. Three shadowhunters and a warlock.”

Alec's heart leaped into his throat and his breathing stopped. _Shadowhunters and a warlock?_ No, it couldn't be Magnus. Big Sister would gloat if it had been Magnus.

_Or maybe she wants to give me a shock._

Behind her, Jade and Xi Mei were each dragging two bloodied figures into the room. They threw them in front of Alec. He was relieved that he recognized none of them, and was guilty that he had been relieved.

“This one,” said Jade, kicking a skinny, short man with a goat-like beard and fur all along his forearms, “was trying to open a portal right in here.”

The thin warlock struggled to sit up. “сен қасіретке қаласың,” he began, and then cursed so fluidly in a different language that Alec couldn't make out the words.

“English is the common tongue now, Di An,” Big Sister drawled. Her eyes narrowed. “Егер сіз ант берсеңіз, мен сіздің тіліңізді сындырамын.”

The warlock named Di An spat out a glob of blood that landed on Big Sister's right shoe. “You want English? How's this? Fuck. You.”

The vixen smiled. “Alec Lightwood. Here is a little preview of what I will do to your precious Magnus Bane. 玉磬，帮帮忙，别让咱们美少男失血过多，错过了好戏。”

Jade sauntered over, a multi-hued glow around two of her fingers. She jammed her knuckles right against Alec's temple and sent a surge of energy into his head. “Stay awake, little boy,” she hissed. “We'll hate for you to miss the show.”

She then gripped him by the jaw and made sure he faced the captives. Another spell forced his eyes open and stay open.

Big Sister grabbed the warlock by the collar and lifted him to his knees. “Thank you for being my first volunteer,” she told him, all sincerity. Then a narrow, thin blade flashed out in her right palm.

Alec's scream was trapped in his throat.

_Magnus, Magnus don't come, don't come for me, don't come don't come don't come-_

***

Maia sniffed the night air suspiciously. “It's so... dry.”

“There's nothing here,” Simon said, unnecessarily.

They were standing in the middle of a field. Simon could see that about half a football field away were hillocks – mounds, really, with low walls around them. Izzy, Clary, and Jace were tracing runes on one another's skin.

Magnus shut the portal. The flecks of red and gold under his skin were now more obvious, even in the dimness of the night. “There's nothing up here,” he said quietly. “But Alec's down there.”

“How far down?”

“There are no entrances. We have to portal in, and we can only portal to the topmost level,” said Magnus. When he next looked at them, his eyes were glowing golden, like a cat's. “There are nine levels, each level filled with traps. Simon, Maia, you two will be our eyes and ears and noses. Izzy, Clary, Jace: you are my muscle. If I am to fight Daji and win, I must conserve what magic I have. Jace, can you feel Alec right now?”

“No,” said Jace. “Not even the torture.”

“What do you mean the torture?”

The blond looked stricken. “Earlier... I-I could feel... All these injuries, they're what Alec suffered. Brother Thelonius said I took away half his pain through the parabatai bond.”

Only Simon could see the way Magnus' lower lip trembled. The warlock's voice was utterly calm when he said, “I promise, I will repay them in kind every second of pain those bitches put you both through.” The lights dancing under his skin gathered at the pendant at his throat. “Now. Let's go save my boyfriend.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> сен қасіретке қаласың - You will suffer.  
> Егер сіз ант берсеңіз, мен сіздің тіліңізді сындырамын. - If you swear, I will rip out your tongue.  
> (if you are fluent in Kazakh, please tell me if I have this part wrong.)  
> 玉磬，帮帮忙，别让咱们美少男失血过多，错过了好戏。 - Yuqing, help make sure our pretty boy doesn't miss the show through loss of blood.


	12. Chapter 12

Nine levels of enclosed space with no non-magical way out to the surface. Maia shut away the rising claustrophobia ruthlessly; this was not the time to tell Magnus that she did _not_ like being here.

From the scents of everyone else, no one liked being here. In fact, to her werewolf nose, Magnus hated being here. He smelled _furious-murderous-bitter-scared_ , a cocktail of loud pheromones that any three-day-old pup would be able to follow.

He also smelled wrong.

Maia had only met Magnus a handful of times at the Hunter's Moon, and he was usually there on a date with Alec, so he would exude _sweet-light-happy-shy_ , but beneath that was the identifying scent. Regular Magnus was _warm-rich-patient-old_ (old like trees and mountains, not old like old people); current Magnus smelled _heat-sharp-metal-ichor_ , and standing near him was making her hair stand on end.

But Luke had told the pack to help Magnus because Magnus had always helped them, so Maia would do this.

No one liked a werewolf on a bad hair day.

The warlock had portaled them in and set Maia and Simon on point. Magnus himself was the rear guard. The air in here was unnaturally still, and there was no scent trail outside of the vaguest hint of water.

“When I went to Alec, I was in my astral body,” the warlock murmured. “I saw only glimpses of what lay in each level. This one, if I remember correctly, is the most complex and the largest level. They get smaller and smaller as we go down.”

“An inverted pyramid?”

Magnus snapped his fingers. “That's right, Simon. That's it, exactly. And Alec's in the bottom.”

“Not the first time, I hope,” Jace cracked, but no one laughed or even reacted to his lousy joke.

Out of the corner of her eye, Maia saw Clary patting the blond's arm in pretend-sympathy. The tiny redhead was sassy and sharp, in a way that reminded Maia of her high school lab partner Hakimah, who was one head shorter than Maia and three times as ready to fight anyone making any Islamophobic joke in her hearing.

Once, one of the senior jocks thought it would be funny to pull off Hakimah's hijab. The young woman kneed Tommy Sheldon so hard in retaliation he practically became a soprano.

Simon suddenly flung out a hand. “I see wires.” He snarled a little as he sniffed. “There's something weird coated on it.”

“Strange.” Maia sniffed. “I don't smell anything.”

“Could you get a sample from one of the wires, Simon?” Magnus asked from the back of the group.

Armed with a tissue from Izzy, Simon crept forward and very cautiously touched the thin paper to something in the air in front of them. Then he retreated and handed it to Magnus.

The warlock wiggled his fingers over the fine line of liquid stained on the tissue. Green-silver sparks fluttered from his fingertips which, when in contact with the substance, flared into magenta.

Maia frowned. “What is it?”

“Wolfsbane and cyanide, along with something demonic.” Magnus crumpled up the tissue and set it aflame. “They know we're here.”

***

“Our guests have arrived,” Daji announced. She was sitting in a corner with a lamp on a table, cleaning her hands with deliberate casualness. Blood was hard to scrub out from under the nails. “Xi Mei, how are the portals in Brooklyn?”

“All sealed,” said Xi Mei with some rancor. She glared at Alec. “I hope my children are killing your people.”

“I hope your children are painfully slaughtered,” Alec managed to say, a small smirk on his ruined lips.

The back of Xi Mei's hand cracked across his cheek, sending bloodied spittle flying. Alec didn't care about being hit. He had just seen Daji peel off a man's face while he was alive. The only things he cared about were that Magnus never ended up in her hands and that Alec could somehow, _somehow_ , kill them all.

The only one left alive of the first group of captives was a plump, middle-aged Chinese lady. Despite witnessing what the three female warlocks were capable of, she remained poised and calm. There was blood running down her temple from where she'd been struck, and her jaw was already puffy and bruised, but she was not afraid. She knelt on the cold, hard stone, as if that was exactly where she intended to be.

Alec didn't know her name, and he wished he could help her get away from here.

Daji dried off her hands and spoke to her two conspirators. “喜媚，你去五楼的迎客亭预备。玉磬，七楼就由你把关。姐姐我得去摆百心坛。千万小心，若斗不过就别打，退到姐姐这儿来。”

Jade and Xi Mei nodded before they dispersed. Daji examined Alec and the woman, a smile hovering on her luscious lips. “I'll leave you two to hatch a plot to escape,” she said, with a teasing tone that grated on Alec's nerves, but she did leave them alone in the semi-dark.

The Chinese woman blinked slowly at Alec. “My name is Fu Ming-yue,” she said quietly, her accented voice hitching slightly as she inhaled. Probably a cracked rib or two. “I've met your parents. You resemble your mother.”

“I'm sorry,” Alec said, not in response to anything she said, but sincere regardless. If he hadn't been captured, neither would she have been, and she would certainly not have to face the horrors that the three warlocks would visit upon them both.

Fu shook her head. “I knew what I was signing up for when I came.” She exhaled with a grimace. “Your friends. They've come. Xi Mei is going to the fifth floor. Yuqing is going to the seventh. Daji has a – what's the word? Platform? Stage? - an altar to prepare. I'm guessing in the ninth floor, below us.”

 _So Jade is named Yuqing._ “I don't know if we can do anything about it.”

“You have a parabatai.”

“Yes.” _God, yes. I'm sorry, Jace, I am so sorry._

“I had a parabatai once,” said Fu. She smiled sadly. “It'd be good to see him again after I die. I hope he won't yell at me for this.”

Alec was confused. “What?”

Fu bowed her head to her right shoulder, and somehow she was drawing an _iratze_ on her skin there. When she looked up, Alec saw that the woman had the tip of a stele held in her teeth. Fu grunted and struggled to her feet. Her arms were still bound behind her with glowing white strands of Daji's magic but there was a brief snapping sound and suddenly, her hands were free. Then she stumbled over to Alec and behind him. He tensed, for no reason he could decipher, and his arms flopped down abruptly from the shackles. He hadn't even heard them spring open.

 _Oh **fuck** , that hurts. _Blood – what he had left of it – was trying to return to his limbs, but not soon enough; he flopped to the floor in the tacky pool of his own blood. Fu scrawled a number of healing runes on him as well as something behind his shoulder that made him feel a lot less dizzy. Soon he was able to get to his feet. Most of his wounds were closed, though when he prodded them, they were still tender.

She tucked the bit of the stele somewhere in her mouth. Off Alec's stunned and possibly disgusted expression, she muttered, in a way that Izzy did when she first started sleeping with Meliorn, “Needs must, Alec.”

“How did you break the binding?”

“Unlocking charm,” she said. “Here.” She tapped a dangling silver charm on a string of beads on her wrist.

 _The dead warlock,_ Alec's memory supplied. _The one that swore at Daji_.

“Couldn't use it while they were here,” she said, and then she stumbled again. To Alec's shock, blood trickled from her nose. Fu shook off his concern. “I'm not going to survive this. Here, take the stele.” She fished out the crystal from her mouth and wiped it on the cleanest part of her shirt. Then she also pulled off the string of beads from her wrist and made him wear it. “These. Ancient Chinese magic. They will give you some protection.”

“I can't leave you here.”

“Yes, you can,” she said. “I was already dying before I decided to come. Now, listen. You're eight stories below ground. There is one flight of stairs per floor, as far as Di An could confirm earlier. Go find your friends and flee. Tonight, at midnight, there is a lunar eclipse. Daji wants you and Magnus Bane here at that hour. _Do not be here._ ”

***

The six of them very gingerly slipped through gaps in the net of poisoned wires, Simon leading the way. It was a good thing they were all slender, Maia thought, even though she was no contortionist and was in no way as flexible as Magnus or Clary seemed to be. At least she was better than Jace, who decided that scooting under all the wires was easier on him than trying to bend in ways that his ribs and sides didn't like.

 _Wolfsbane_. She was angry at herself for not being able to smell it, but Magnus had said that there was a demonic substance mixed in with it to mask the scent. If Simon hadn't been here with his vampiric night vision, they would never have made it past the first level.

Once they were through that passage, Maia said, “I'm going to wolf out.”

“Maia, that's not necessary,” said Simon. Clary nodded in agreement.

“Yes it is. I have better senses as a wolf,” she said. She pulled off her tee shirt partway, before looking behind her at Jace and Magnus. Then, realizing that she had had sex with one and she didn't mind the other, she stripped, briskly, and handed the clothes to a stunned Simon. Once the initial embarrassment of being naked in front of others faded, she rolled her shoulders and gave in to that anger that always simmered beneath her skin.

It always hurt, going into her wolf form, but once she was all fur and teeth, she felt _free_. The closest she could explain it was like a woman taking off an underwired bra after a long day times fifty. And now she could see the maze with her nose. With a short yip, she trotted forward, following the distant scent of stale water and Alec Lightwood.

***

If Magnus had any energy to spare, he would be busy being angry at his father's manipulation. He had a tendency to forget that Asmodeus was one of the most powerful beings in existence, simply because they were related, and today he had been reminded of it viscerally.

He hadn't been entirely himself in Prospect Park. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he hadn't been that particular person for centuries.

 _Prince of Cats_.

It had been a silly nickname at first, bestowed upon him when he was a child still learning magic from Asmodeus. They had cat's eyes, and Asmodeus was a king, so Magnus was, naturally, a prince. Then, as Magnus grew older, he took on some of the worst traits from his father, and he earned the title.

_Everyone loves cats. They are beautiful and elegant creatures who enjoy being pampered and spoiled. But they are vicious and effective predators._

_And they play with their prey._

Aldertree used UV light on Raphael as a way to hurt Magnus, and he had succeeded, but it wasn't solely the agony inflicted on Raphael that made the warlock want to tear Aldertree apart.

It was that Magnus used to do things like that.

For fun.

For pleasure.

For praise.

Asmodeus had _showered_ Magnus with so much affection whenever the latter came up with new ways toy with their captives, and Magnus had basked in his father's words of commendation. It had taken a mother – of all people – fighting back with nothing more than teeth and fingernails for her infant child, that had reminded Magnus of his humanity.

He remembered how he had locked himself in his room afterwards, shaking like he would fall apart, as he replayed his final memory of his own mother. Not long after that, Magnus sent Asmodeus into Edom, and tried to scrub every atom of the Prince of Cats from his very soul.

As he trailed after the young people, Magnus felt every single day of his long life weighing on him. Alec was the only priority. Magnus would save him at whatever cost to himself.

But what if that cost was his hard-won self?

***

The second Alec had ducked out of that grimy room and managed to find a dark corner to take a breather, he could sense Jace nearby. The relief that had crashed into him nearly made his knees buckle.

With the stele, he dashed off a fire message. _Daji wants to kill Magnus during the lunar eclipse midnight tonight. DO NOT BE HERE THEN._ In the gloom, he could almost see the trail of sparks the message left.

Now that he was no longer actively being beaten or bled dry, he could feel the chill seeping into his bones. Unfortunately, Daji and her cronies hadn't been considerate enough to leave out a set of clothing or weapons for an escaping prisoner.

Thing was, Daji knew he was going to run. The last time he managed to escape, she had caught him with effortless ease. He had no doubt that she knew everything that was happening here, in her evil villain lair.

But how?

No warlock would expend that much magic to keep tabs on what he was sure was a large area. It would be dumb, and while Daji was definitely a batshit psycho, she was not stupid. She probably had wards set up to sense motion.

_Like a spider's web._

Magnus had made Alec sit through as many David Attenborough documentaries as the young man had time for. (“It's not pop culture, Alexander, it's _educational_ , and it'll do you good to know more about the world outside of cities, good grief, Idris has a _terrible_ science curriculum”) It hadn't been a hardship; Attenborough's voice was soothing, and usually Magnus would be curled into Alec's side, murmuring now and then the magical properties of certain plants or animals that were on screen. And there had been a whole series on arthropods that Alec had found fascinating, not the least of which was that spiders were incredible hunters that behaved like vampires. Magnus had called Raphael to share that comparison immediately and the vampire had cussed them both out in rapid Spanish on speakerphone.

Alec smiled. He had had a great time after that, 'punishing' Magnus for being a dick.

The happiness that bubbled in him faded to a fierce yearning. His boyfriend was here somewhere, he knew. If Jace was here, then so was Magnus, and Magnus was the real target.

Shaking himself free of his distracted thoughts, Alec used Fu's stele to activate the rune for seeing spells and for night vision. It was disorienting initially, having both, but soon he could see the glowing gossamer lines of delicate spellwork threading through the entire passage, with the lines converging towards points on the walls. He followed a bunch of lines towards their convergence point, dodging as many of them as he could.

 _There._ It was a blank stone tile to the naked eye, but to his enhanced sight, there was a glowing sigil in the center of it. Alec had never seen such a symbol before, and knew better than to touch it with his bare hands. Then he remembered the beads Fu had him wear.

He pulled them off and dangled the silver charm slowly towards the center of the sigil. It was almost anticlimactic how the glowing spell lines just disappeared, like turning the lights off. Alec removed the charm and counted the seconds until the spell returned.

Five seconds.

Alec repeated the performance and moved past that first sigil, heart pounding. Then the second, then the third, and soon he had it down to a dance.

***

The stairs to the next level were guarded with a pack of hellhounds. Simon could barely believe it.

Like, mutant dogs with glowing coals for eyes and needle sharp teeth in rows, almost like sharks, and _did he mention hellhounds?_

Jace drew his blade, just before a fire message smacked him between the eyes. “Ow!”

Izzy snatched it from the air as it fluttered and read it. “Midnight. What time is it now?”

“Nearly eight-fifteen,” said Magnus. “We have time to find him.”

“Daji wants to kill you.” Simon knew he was pointing out the obvious, but someone had to do that.

“I feel much the same way about her.” Magnus raised his chin. “First, hellhounds.”

Clary exhaled slowly as she took one step closer to the beasts, and yelped as their growls took on a more threatening note. “Why aren't they attacking?”

Magnus pointed to Maia, who was growling at an even lower pitch. Her hackles were fully raised and she had bared all her fangs. She was bigger than the largest by half, but hellhounds swarmed. They were dangerous when in the hands of a good handler. At least there was no handler here, so these beasts would only react on instinct.

“Hellhounds are demon-bred. Werewolves really don't like them.” He made a face that was more regular-Magnus than scary-demon-prince-Magnus. “I don't like them either, I'm really more of a cat person.”

Next to Maia, Izzy already had her staff out, and Jace took a stance on Maia's other side. Jace didn't turn his head as he barked out, “Simon, Clary, guard Magnus.”

The two shadowhunters edged another pace forwards, but it was the werewolf who launched herself at the pack of demon dogs. She didn't even bother posturing: her jaws closed on the leading hellhound and she flung it into the wall. Jace followed behind her and cut off its head. Izzy was close behind them, her staff knocking any of the demon dogs that managed to rush through Maia's charge and Jace's blade into the wall, dazing them so that Clary could finish the job. Simon used his super-speed to pull Magnus away from danger.

It was a pretty short battle. Maia slunk back to Simon and shook her head.

“She's changing back,” the vampire told the others. They obliged by looking away while Maia shifted back into human form and got dressed.

It should worry Simon how much he loved it when Maia indulged in her wilder side. They didn't do biting or scratching – Simon was already a vampire who walked in daylight, he didn't want to be a Daylighter that was _also a werewolf_ – but now and then, they could go a little rougher on each other. Bruising was good. Right now, he could see that her pupils were dilated and color was high in her cheeks, even if she had hellhound blood smeared across her face.

“What?” Maia said, an amused tilt to her lips, like she hadn't just mauled nearly a dozen hellhounds by herself. She made a face and tried to spit. "Ugh, hellhounds taste  _foul."_

“I love you,” said Simon with a broad smile.

Jace was the one who broke the mood. “Come on. I'm sure hellhounds aren't the worst they can throw at us.”

“Did you have to say that?” Simon called out.

***

Hellhounds were not the worst.

The worst, in Simon's entirely objective opinion, was having to walk across an actual spiked pit via a narrow stone bridge while the walls spewed flame and acid at odd intervals, while Clary vehemently hated the demon bats (demon bats! Regular bats were creepy enough!) diving at them in a different section.

At least they found the stairs to the third level without having to fight more hellhounds. As they emerged from the stairwell, Izzy froze. Maia nearly collided into her.

The third level was a funhouse of mirrors. Somewhere in the dark, they heard the eerie sound of children's distant laughter.

Jace groaned. “I hate this place so much.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 喜媚，你去五楼的迎客亭预备。玉磬，七楼就由你把关。姐姐我得去摆百心坛。千万小心，若斗不过就别打，退到姐姐这儿来。 - Xi Mei, go to the Welcoming Pavilion on the 5th level. Yuqing, you're in charge of the seventh. I will prepare the Hundred Heart altar. If you can't defeat them, don't linger; retreat to where I am.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dun dun DUNNNNN!!  
> (the plot thickens)

“I smell jasmine,” said Maia. None of them had stepped into the third level yet. The hall of mirrors looked innocuous but all of them did not want to go anywhere near it. They heard the laughing children again.

Magnus looked grim. “ _Pontianak._ ”

“Gesundheit,” Jace remarked. Off Izzy's sisterly glare, he threw up his hands in protest. “You were all thinking it.” Then, in a more serious tone, he added, “Alec's wounds are mostly healed, as far as I can tell. He's on the move.”

“Thanks, Jace,” said the warlock softly.

“I'm going to send him a message,” said the blond. “Should he look for us or find someplace to hide?”

“Tell him there are nine levels, we are on the third, to stay out of trouble, and that I love him,” Magnus said. While Jace composed a reply, the warlock explained, “A _pontianak_ is a destructive spirit of a woman who died violently, either due to childbirth or due to rape. They are very common where I came from.”

Maia hugged herself and Simon moved closer to his girlfriend.

Magnus continued, “Good thing is, they don't attack women. Men, on the other hand...”

“Because men are the worst,” said Simon.

“Yeah, men really are,” Magnus agreed. He was frowning vaguely. “”I don't know why the mirrors, but I think it's safe to assume that we really mustn't look into them. There are magic spells that require the target to stand between two mirrors.”

The message darted away. Jace put away his stele and asked, “Why not break the mirrors?”

“And have ten thousand more mirrors with which to trap our souls?” the warlock replied dryly. Off their petrified looks, he shrugged. “I don't know what they do, but I don't want to risk it.”

“We can't stay here forever,” Izzy pointed out.

Red-gold flecks of light started swimming just under his skin again, eerie and mesmerizing. He shook himself and cleared his throat. “Boys, we stay in the middle. Izzy, Clary, you two take the rear. Maia, can you smell Alec without wolfing out? I don't know how _pontianaks_ will react to werewolves.”

“I'll stay like this for now,” said Maia.

“Should we, you know, blindfold ourselves?” Simon suggested. “If we aren't supposed to look in the mirrors. Sorry, I-I don't know if that's a good idea.”

“It's a great idea, actually,” said Izzy. “And Simon doesn't have to blindfold himself. He's a vampire, he doesn't show in mirrors.”

Jace was dubious. “But you girls have to fight. You can't fight if you have blindfolds on.”

Izzy hummed, and then brightened. “We keep our blindfolds on, with the guys protected by us women, and Simon can always tell us if we need to take them off to fight.”

There didn't seem to be a good way to navigate an entire mirror maze that also held vengeful spirits. They settled for the blindfolds.

***

Silently, Alec crept along the tunnels, feeling colder and colder as he moved. He really needed something to cover up.

The eighth level where he was was just a square grid of nine rooms, he soon realized. He had been held in the center, and he was directly opposite where he had discovered the use of the charm. Wishing he had some way to tell the time – he hoped it was nowhere close to midnight – Alec debated his choices.

He wanted to try to meet up with Jace and Magnus, but he had no idea how far he had to go before he got there, and staying put was not an option. He would freeze to death if he did. If only there was a rune that could conjure up some clothes.

A fire message shot at him and he snatched it out of the air.

_Alc,9 lvls. Mag, Iz, Cl, Simon, Maia, me on 3. wru? Mag: stay out trbl. (also he <3 u) (u2 r gross) (don't die u jerkass)_

Alec stifled a groan. Even with fire messages, Jace couldn't write proper sentences. He remembered that Fu had said he was eight stories below ground, so he would work with that. His reply sped off. If Magnus and the rest were on the third floor, than he could try to meet them somewhere in the middle and they just had to escape, until the lunar eclipse had passed, and then they could all kick Daji's and her cronies' asses.

With a sigh, Alec returned to the tedious task of creeping forward down the tunnels. The people he loved were here (he mentally discounted Clary, Simon and Maia), and he wanted more than anything to get back to them.

***

Simon wanted to scream like a preteen girl at a horror movie, but he clamped his jaws shut. Everyone else was blindfolded, so at least they were not seeing what he was trying desperately not to see.

As a vampire, he was not reflected in the mirrors, but all the rest were. If these were normal mirrors, Simon would have been a lot less freaked out.

The thing was, each mirror held on to their reflection just a heartbeat too long. Since the mirrors were facing one another down the passage, the reflections trailed into the infinite darkness beyond. Simon could have sworn that the reflections far in the distance were not moving with the party. Also, there seemed to be shadows following, but he could only catch glimpses out of the corners of his eyes. They didn't look humanoid but he had no way of checking.

Every now and then, the laughter of children echoed, but no children appeared.

“Turn left in three paces,” he murmured.

Maia, who was leading the way, growled. “No backseat steering.”

“Can the flirting,” Jace grumbled. “It's bad enough dealing with Magnus and Alec.”

“When I see Alec again,” said Magnus, just behind Jace, “I'm going to make out with him in such a pornographic manner that you will _never_ be able to look at him without blushing.”

Although his words were lighthearted, Simon could hear the tension in the warlock's voice. It took his mind briefly off the creepy not-really-reflection reflections in the mirrors. He always liked Alec and Magnus both, even if he was also intimidated by them. Alec had been this scowling, tall hunk (Simon had eyes and yes, he had checked Alec out more than a few times) at first, and now he was a snarky hunk of tall, dark, and handsome (Simon's eyes worked even better now. He was also really good at not being caught checking Alec out, because, well, Maia, and also, powerful warlock boyfriend.) Meanwhile Magnus was worldly and flamboyant, wearing his glamorous nature as easily as breathing. He had taken Simon under his wing even though he really didn't have to. They were perfect together. That kiss at Alec's almost-wedding still made his cold, vampire heart feel warm and tingly with happiness. It would be devastating for everyone if they couldn't get a happily ever after.

Though, with Magnus' immortality, it was a challenge anyway. Simon bit his lower lip. It would be more tragic than Romeo and Juliet, because _that_ was just two crazy kids going too far...

As they made another left turn, Simon yelled, “Everybody stop!”

Everyone halted. Jace nearly collided with Simon and had to brace himself with a hand on his shoulders.

Two women in white – two female spirits, Simon could see them levitating – blocked their path. Their long black hair obscured their faces, but the vampire could see their wide, grinning mouths with sharp teeth. They didn't advance, but neither did they look like they were going to retreat.

“Simon? What's there?” Maia asked.

“You can't smell that?” Simon licked his lips. “Uh, Magnus, the, um, the pontoonah thingies-”

“ _Pontianak?”_

Simon clenched and released his fists. “Yeah, those. How do I kill them?”

Magnus paused. “Are the mirrors normal mirrors?”

“No. Emphatically not.”

The warlock sighed. “Of course. Why make it easy for us?”

“Magnus, time, ticking, Alec.”

“I know that!” Magnus snapped. He stepped forward, pushing past Simon and Jace, and then he did something complicated with his hands, complete with spirit-fingers wiggling. A white fog poured from his palms to the ground. “Ladies, get ready to take off the blindfolds. Cut off the heads of the _pontianak_ spirits _,_ and _don't look at your reflections._ Maia, stay in front of us. Our fragile masculine lives are in your hands.”

The fog rose, clouding the mirrors. The two _pontianak_ drifted a foot closer.

“Simon, has the fog reached the ceiling?” Lights were dancing over the warlock's skin again, like excited red-gold particles demonstrating Brownian motion.

“Yes!”

“Now, girls!”

All three women whipped off the blindfolds. Maia growled and hunkered down, fingers clawed, as if ready to pounce. Izzy's whip snapped out and Clary unsheathed both her blades, both of them rushing the _pontianak_ simultaneously. Simon wanted to watch them fight but he then noticed black shapes gathering in the fog, which then thickened so much that Izzy and Clary were obscured.

“Magnus-”

“Simon, I'm trying to keep the fog going.”

Before the Daylighter could elucidate, a clawed hand swiped at them at head height out of the fog. Shoving Magnus aside, Simon yanked Maia down before she could be raked across the neck again, and at the same time he kicked one of Jace's feet out from under him.

Maia grabbed Simon's arm. “What was that about?”

“There's something in the fog!” he shouted.

Jace got into a fighting pose, even though he hadn't taken off his blindfold. “Where is it?”

Simon was frantically peering about, trying to peer through the fog. “I can't see it!”

Izzy's whip cracked again. Clary cried out triumphantly, “Done!”

The fog dissipated.

To Simon's surprise, the mirrors were now normal mirrors, even if their reflections did curve deep into infinity. Clary and Izzy were striding back, one hand blocking their gaze from the mirrors. “What happened?”

“Simon kicked my shin,” Jace said.

Simon helped Maia to her feet. “There was something in the fog Magnus conjured up.”

Izzy's eyes grew wide. “Where's Magnus?”

***

Magnus groaned. Simon really needed to get used to vampiric strength. He stood up, a hand to his aching head, when he realized he was no longer in the mirrored passageway.

In fact, he was standing in the middle of the void. A deep, blurry indigo stretched out in all directions. No walls, no ceilings, no floor.

No friends.

No Alec.

“Oh _fuck_ ,” Magnus muttered. “I'm in the mirror.”

The sound of his voice was jarring in the dull, pressing silence. However, as if his words were the cue, he sensed something headed towards him. Quickly arming himself with a couple of fireballs, Magnus peered around him.

Out of the indigo formlessness, a figure coalesced into being. It was a cloaked humanoid, twice as tall as Magnus himself, and it lumbered towards him.

_::You are Asmodeus' scion. I was told you might come.::_

“Who the hell are you?” Magnus asked.

_::Your father promised to free me from this place if I granted his wish.::_

The warlock poured more power into his fireballs. “What has this got to do with me? It's _his_ wish. Go fulfill it.”

The cloaked figure emanated amusement. _::You are the key to that wish, Magnus Bane.::_ It reached out one impossibly long arm – three-jointed! Magnus had never seen a three-jointed arm before – and its clawed black hand tried to grab the warlock.

Magnus fired off his spells at it and rolled out of the way. However, a long, whip-like tail flashed out from under the cloak and tripped him as he stood, and the black hand landed on Magnus' head. Magnus barely had time to raise his arm in defense when a pulse of magic shot into his brain, whiting out his vision.

***

All five of the young people were very close to panic.

“We can't lose Magnus! Alec will _kill_ us,” Simon pointed out. If he was still human, he'd be hyperventilating. “Not joke-kill either, like _really_ kill us.”

Clary had completely disregarded Magnus' warning about the mirrors and was pounding on each of them. The mirrors were regular mirrors now, and even the children's laughter had disappeared. Jace had pulled off his own blindfold as well, his keen eyes taking in the surroundings, his right hand gripping Isabelle's tightly.

After a few moments, the blond stood up. “Simon, shut up. Magnus is inside the mirror.”

“What? Where? How? Where?”

“Right there, bloodsucker,” Jace said. “I can see him. Clary, stop hitting the mirrors before you break them.”

Clary stopped. “You can see him?”

“If you stand there where I was, and just look out of the right corner of your eyes, you can see something lying horizontal,” said Jace. He was terse as he began examining that one mirrored panel. “If that's not Magnus, I'll eat my shirt.”

Izzy hurried to the spot Jace had vacated and did what he said. Then she inhaled sharply. “He's fighting something big.”

Jace ignored her comment. He was running his big hands over the entire mirror, as if looking for a weak spot, muttering under his breath all the while. Maia went to him and asked what he was doing.

“This has to be a portal into the mirror world,” Jace said. He kicked the glass angrily. “We need to figure out what to do to get in there to save Magnus.”

Maia piped up. “He was using magic before he disappeared. Maybe that's what activates the whole portal?”

***

Magnus shook his head. He must have had too many strong drinks last night in celebration, if his headache was anything to go by. He washed his hands in the gold basin and waited for a slave to dry them.

“My jewelry,” he drawled.

Another slave hurried up with an ebony tray inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl. On it were a dozen exquisite gold rings. Magnus took his time picking out what he wanted to wear, eventually landing on five.

After the rings were the bangles and necklaces, then the earrings and ear cuffs, and finally his clothes. He decided to drape himself with fine silks. It was his day, after all, and he intended to indulge in his decadent tastes. Buttons were far too much trouble to deal with.

Then he did up his hair and face. It was easy to style his hair, but he couldn't decide how much gold he wanted to use to accent his features. In the end, he settled for some gold eyeliner, paired with black, and a thin gold stripe in the center of his lower lip.

A slave pinned up the silk at the shoulder with a brooch set with glittering rubies, and then secured a gold-chain belt around him. Her hands were trembling as she attended to her prince. Once she was done, Magnus strode towards the five extravagantly massive mirrors on one side of his bedroom.

The fabric he had chosen to wear today was artfully draped from one shoulder, baring his muscled left arm with its solid gold cuff, and the rest of the fabric trailed behind when he walked. He made a minute adjustment so that the side of his left leg would be bared as well. It was a day to be sensual, he thought.

“Something for my ankle, I think,” he mused aloud.

A slave came over bearing a different tray, this one with delicate gold chains set with sparkling jewels of different colors. He was going with the red and gold theme, so he chose the rubies, and the slave, trembling, looped it about his ankle.

When he finally felt satisfied with his appearance, he strode out of his bedroom and towards the great hall of the palace, which, as of yesterday, had not existed here. Guards saluted him as he passed. Tall banners were hung on the walls, black and red, with a golden cat's eye on them. He smiled, proud of his achievement.

Magnus Bane had conquered Idris, the final bastion of rebellion on Earth, and today he would present it to his father Asmodeus.

 


	14. Chapter 14

Prince Magnus barely accorded his generals and lieutenants a passing glance. They clapped a hand over their chest as he sauntered past, knowing that the prince was never in a mood for idle chitchat when the king was about to arrive. The main hall was bedecked with sumptuous fabrics, and right before the throne was a heaping display of the treasures of Idris. Behind the treasures, his own contingent of the royal guards stood at attention, spears pointing at chained prisoners who were all kneeling, their hands bound behind them.

The prince got to the throne just as a portal shimmered into existence. Asmodeus, regal in red and gold, stepped through. Magnus beamed with delight and hugged his father.

“I _knew_ you'd wear my favorite colors!” he crowed.

Their golden eyes met when the king gazed at his warlock son with fondness. Asmodeus brushed his thumb over Magnus' cheek. “Of course I did. I am so proud of you, my beautiful boy. You cannot imagine my joy when you said you'd captured _Idris._ ”

Magnus blushed. “I did it for you.”

“You are magnificent.” Asmodeus pressed his lips to Magnus' brow. “Now, show me what you have won for me.”

The prince released Asmodeus from his hug and took him by his free hand. “Rejoice! The King of Demons is here!” he announced, his voice magically amplified.

The demons and warlocks in the hall fell to one knee. “All hail the king!”

“Arise,” said Asmodeus. “This glorious victory over Idris belongs to my chosen heir, my only son, the Prince of Cats: Magnus Bane. I now name him Regent of Idris!”

The generals and lieutenants cheered, their discordant voices echoing in the tall ceilings of the palace.

Magnus blushed again, bashful now with his father present. He ducked his head against the king's shoulder and murmured something under his breath.

“Don't be shy,” whispered Asmodeus. “You deserve everything I can give you, darling boy. Now, what have you got for me?”

Asmodeus' golden eyes scanned the hall, taking in the rare weapons, books, and armor found in the treasuries and armories of Idris, before looking beyond to where the prisoners were held. He strode past the treasures, his gold-topped cane clicking on the polished black marble floor, and stood in front of the prisoners, all of them residents of Idris.

“These are the leaders of the rebels,” grunted General Grycek, clapping one clawed hand over his armored chest as his other arm indicated the first row of prisoners.

Magnus waited behind his father. “What would you have me do about them, father?”

“Warlock.” Asmodeus' cane swung up to point at a horned man. “Stand.”

The warlock was jerked to his feet. One of his eyes was swollen and purple, and his clothes bloodied, yet his bearing remained proud.

“Your name, warlock,” the king ordered.

The warlock smirked. “Go fuck yourself.”

Magnus bristled. “How dare you?”

“Of course I dare.” The horned warlock stared at the king and then spat right in his face.

Incensed, Magnus gathered magic in his right hand and would have slung the spell in the warlock's face if Asmodeus hadn't held him back. “Beg my father's forgiveness, now!”

“I will _never_ beg him for anything.”

“It seems,” Asmodeus said with deceptive calm as he cleaned off the spittle with a twitch of his fingers, “that this warlock intends to go out with a bang, to martyr himself before these... nephilim.”

The prince glanced at his father and saw the glint in the king's eyes. Magnus lowered his right hand and let the magic dissipate, though he was still seething. He nodded at his demon soldiers.

The warlock struggled as two demons pulled him from the group of prisoners. One of the younger chldren cried out, “Ragnor!”

Asmodeus smiled when the warlock was thrown before his feet. “Ragnor? Ragnor Fell? I have heard of you.”

Ragnor glowered at the king. “Must be the curses I hurl in your vicinity every night.”

Ignoring the rejoinder, Asmodeus said, “Pledge your fealty to my son, Ragnor Fell, and live. For the sake of my darling boy, I have promised to give all warlocks this option.”

Laughing unpleasantly, Ragnor snarled, “Your 'darling boy' slaughtered over half of Idris in your accursed name. I will never pledge allegiance to a monster like him. Kill me and be done with it!”

Asmodeus raised an eyebrow. “I see.” He turned and looked at Magnus, his mouth curving slightly in a small smile. “You are now the regent, Magnus. I leave him in your capable hands.”

Magnus returned the smile before he regarded Ragnor Fell. “For your insolence, I would've killed you, but it's clear to me now that you long for the sweet release of death.” He took a step closer, magic curling over his fingers. “Kavao?”

His most trusted lieutenant came forward. “Your highness?”

“Remove his tongue, and cut off his limbs at the elbows and knees. Bind him to a post in the heart of Alicante.” On hearing Magnus' words, Ragnor Fell blanched, eyes wide with horror. “Give him water, but no food. Inform me when he seems to be on the brink of death.” To the warlock, Magnus added, “Don't worry, Ragnor Fell. I will make sure that you take a long, _long_ time to die.”

There was a clamor of protest among the prisoners as the warlock was dragged away by Kavao and another soldier. Two of them, both dark-haired and beautiful, rushed to their feet, but were beaten back by the royal guard.

“Stay down or I will do the same to the children,” Magnus warned. He had long learned that threats to adults worked far less effectively than threats to kids. Asmodeus caressed his son's bare left arm, radiating approval with a simple touch. Magnus smiled at the king, before turning to regard the prisoners. “What shall I do with all of you?”

Some of the demons licked their lips. Magnus narrowed his eyes at them, and those who were more brazen merely grinned, flashing their fangs. Still, Magnus had need of humans to tend to the more tedious tasks of cleaning and maintaining the lands. He hummed, scanning the group. “Well then. Lieutenant Aledan, I appoint you warden of the children. Take them to our stronghold in Athens.”

Most of the older kids struggled, and the parents fought like wolves to try to protect them, but the other warlocks in Magnus' service bound them to the marble floor.

Magnus smiled coldly. “They will be cared for and taught the proper way of things. If you make trouble for me, then I will make trouble for them.”

“You're worse than a beast!” a young woman shouted. Tears were streaming from her lovely eyes.

The young man beside her looked grim and resolute.

 _That one is going to be trouble._ The prince raised his eyebrows. “Father, would you want a new slave?”

“Thank you, dear boy, but I'd rather you take one for yourself,” Asmodeus said. He followed Magnus' gaze. “Ah. Of course. You've always had a weakness for those.”

Magnus felt his cheeks heat up. “I can't help it.”

“Of course not.” Asmodeus studied the two, now being kicked back into place. “The girl or the boy?”

Biting his lower lip, Magnus debated internally. They were both gorgeous, the young man tall and muscled, and the young woman voluptuous even in her youth, and similar enough that they were most likely siblings. The prince considered if he would want both, and discarded the notion; that would just give them the hope that they could try to kill him together. No, better to use one as leverage. He pointed at the young woman. “You there. I will have you.”

“No!” The young man beside her was on his feet instantly, although he stumbled to his knees when a guard kicked him. “No, please. Take me instead.”

“No, shut up, I don't want you sacrificing-”

With a snap of his fingers, Magnus gagged them both. Then he narrowed his eyes at the desperate young man. “Sweeten the offer, boy, and I might just take you up on your word.” He released the gag on him.

The young man tore his gaze away from his petrified sister, whose sweet face was wet with tears. “You want a slave, right? I'll be a good one. I'll be obedient. I swear, just don't take the children, and I promise, I swear, I will obey your every command.”

“Don't take the children? Pretty boy, even you aren't worth all that.” The prince swiveled on his heel, as if to stroll away, when the young man said something else .

“I'm a virgin.”

Magnus peered at him over his shoulder. The young man's cheeks flamed red, but his gaze remained locked on Magnus. “That's... I mean, I've never been... I've never even kissed anyone. Innocence. That's... That has to be worth something.”

_Oh, now **that** is tempting._

Chuckling, Asmodeus whispered in his son's ear, “I think it's a wonderful bargain, Magnus.”

The prince nodded. “Alright then. The children stay. If your people respect my rule, I give my word that my soldiers and generals will not harm them. In exchange, you will obey my every command.”

The other nephilim were gaping. In many of their faces, Magnus could see hope tainted with guilt. They _wanted_ this young man to sacrifice himself for them, but felt bad about it. These mortal beings were worse than the demons they supposedly loathed – demons were evil, not hypocritical.

Magnus gestured for one of the royal guard to unchain the young man. “Your name, nephilim.”

The young man gulped. “Alec. Alec Lightwood.”

***

“We should go ahead,” said Maia.

“What?”

“No way!”

“Are you insane?”

The three shadowhunters glared at her in unison. Jace folded his arms and squinted at her, as if Maia would be afraid of Mr Blond in Leather. “We can't leave Magnus behind.”

“No, but none of us can get to him. We're not magic users,” Maia pointed out reasonably. “And Alec is somewhere out there, weakened and alone. I'm fairly sure he's the more important one right this instant.”

Isabelle's expression could have fried Maia on the spot. “Magnus is the one Daji wants, so there's no way I'm leaving him here to be taken by that bitch.”

“Well, _this_ bitch knows that we have three hours to go, and if we dally any longer, we can't save Alec, and if Magnus was here, he'd be ordering us to move on,” Maia snapped.

Simon quickly stepped between them both. “Okay, playing referee, not fun at all. Um, Izzy, Maia's not wrong.”

“How can you say that?” Clary slapped her best friend on his shoulder. “That's Magnus! He's always helped us when we're in trouble.”

“Clary, please. Look, obviously no one _wants_ to leave Magnus here, but as of this minute, no one knows how to get to him because he's in a magic mirror. The longer we stay here, in this place, the more likely we would be trapped, and then no one can save Alec, and this whole... thing, this rescue mission will be entirely pointless!” Simon tried not to become frustrated. “Daji will get Magnus out of that mirror before midnight, because she needs him, and if we have Alec and help him recover his strength, then we can save Magnus too.”

The five young people glared at one another. Eventually Isabelle sighed. “Fine. Let's get my brother. And then we come back here, okay? I'll be damned before I allow Daji to hurt my future brother-in-law.”

“We could split up,” said Clary. “Wait. A fire message is magic, right?” She scribbled something and sent it at the mirror where Magnus was lying prone somewhere in its indigo depths. The message bounced on the glass surface, like a particularly persistent but dumb insect. Clary's shoulders sagged. “Damn it.”

“Maia, you, Izzy, and Jace should go get Alec,” said Simon. His jaw was tense. “Clary and I will stay here and try other ways to get to Magnus.”

Maia was not happy with the suggestion. “Babe-”

“No, seriously. Maia is as hard to kill as I am, her sense of smell is stronger than mine if need be, and Clary and I have been friends long enough to fight better together. It's the logical solution.”

Everyone understood what Simon meant by _'need be'_. When Maia was in wolf form, she would be very difficult to kill. Izzy and Jace had been fighting as part of a unit since they were teens, while Clary and Simon were more in sync with each other.

“Be careful,” said Izzy. Her dark eyes took in the fire message still futilely tapping on the glass of the enchanted mirror. “Tell Magnus we're bringing Alec to him asap.”

***

After finally locating the stairs, Alec had to activate his stamina rune again. Whatever healing rune Fu had scrawled on him had not replenished his energy, and even the nourishment rune didn't entirely suppress his hunger.

He felt a brief but intense pang of sorrow for his baby brother. The last time Alec and Max had spent any time together, they had practiced their rune work. It had been fun, quizzing Max, and his baby brother had deliberately mixed up the nourishment rune with the fire rune again, just to mess with Alec.

The stairs were similar to the flight of stairs where Alec had been caught the previous time, but now he could see where the triggers for the traps were – the demonic and warlock runes etched on the stone steps glowed in his enhanced vision. He avoided those steps and made it up to the next floor.

Once he got to the seventh storey, he was dismayed. It was an open space, the one with the large pool of stale water where he had originally been kept before his first escape attempt. More importantly, Jade was waiting there, and now she was armed with twin sabers.

By the _Angel_ , what would it take for Alec to get a break?


	15. Chapter 15

“I was hoping I'd get to play with you before Big Sister gets to the killing,” said Jade, starting to sashay towards Alec. She had changed into a form-fitting outfit that was more suitable for fighting, something close to what Izzy used to wear. “You look better. That fat old wench must have healed you.”

Alec slid into a ready stance, despite the ache in his chilled muscles. In the dim light, he couldn't see if his weapons were about, but she was armed with sabers, it meant that she wanted to get her hands dirty.

That suited Alec just fine.

Jade's movements turned predatory. Her saunter slowed and her blades came up, crossed in front of her. “Big Sister only wants you as bait. You can be bait as long as I don't kill you.” Smiling coldly, she starting swinging the sabers. They made silver arcs in the oppressive darkness, but more importantly, they showed the gaps in her defense.

 _Her flesh turns to stone,_ Alec reminded himself. The instructor in him ran through a checklist. _Doesn't mean her joints can't feel strain. Dual-wielding. Unlikely to be better than Clary. Watch for magic use. Do not allow time for spell-casting. Keep to close combat, strike at wrists and elbows whenever possible. Newly blind in her left eye. Attack left flank. Proven: eye is vulnerable to physical attacks. Footwork sloppy. Warlock: reliant on magic, will revert to using magic if cornered._

_Self assessment: reactions slower than at full strength. Anticipate adrenaline spike mid-fight._

He waited until she had traversed most of the room before he advanced. He could feel an ache in his joints, but there was no time to pay attention to it, because Jade charged at him. Alec narrowly avoided the two sabers, ducking left-right-left, then having to drop and roll. When he blocked an overhead strike, the warlock's arm was already solid stone. Alec quickly gripped her and twisted her arm to test if her joints reacted the way regular joints did. He could feel the bones grinding inside, despite the strange texture of her skin.

She grunted in pain and yanked hard, her other blade swinging at him at head height. He dropped and rolled once more, landing in a crouch, and tackled her like in the football games Jace used to watch. Before she could counter the unexpected attack, Alec had her left arm in a grappling hold, his legs clamped around her right arm and neck, and then he pulled as strongly as he could to dislocate her left shoulder.

Jade screamed and the blade she held in her left hand clattered to the cold, damp floor. Alec reached for it, silently grateful for his height. His fingers closed on the handle and he grabbed hold of it immediately.

The warlock struggled and somehow wormed out of his vice grip. With a snarl, she slashed at him with her remaining saber wildly. Her left hand dangled uselessly by her side. Alec avoided the attack and then he heard the second weapon dropped. A bright yellow glow sprung up in her right palm.

_Magic._

Alec didn't give her a chance to fire it. He picked up the second saber and pressed his attack, the blades slashing and dancing at her so she had to keep retreating. The light in her right hand ebbed and grew and ebbed again. The damp floor was slippery and Alec nearly tripped twice as he kept swing at her. He wasn't used to the curved blades, but they were similar enough to seraph blades that his training took over.

She fired off one glowing orb of magic. Alec blocked it in time with the blade in his left hand. It shattered, leaving a thin shard.

_Wrist, back of knee, back of neck, eye._

One long leg swept her to the floor. Jade tried to roll up, but Alec stomped hard on the back of her right knee. While her flesh didn't give, he heard something crack. The pommel of his weapon pounded the back of her neck, stunning her momentarily, and then he dropped the weapon in his left hand. He grabbed her by her braids and pulled, baring her neck. Instead of cutting her head off, as he had been taught to do, Alec slammed the tip of the saber in his right hand into Jade's remaining eye.

She shrieked.

Magic burst from her, sending Alec sprawling and one of the sabers flying into the darkness. She thrashed about, sending blasts of magic flying in different directions, her left arm still a useless limb by her side. Alec ducked any blast that came near him. Her incoherent screaming and blind panic made her seem almost pathetic, until Alec remembered what she had done to him, what she was going to do. He remembered the pain she and the other two warlocks put Jace through, and the worry caused those he loved. The deaths of innocents, the death that they were planning for Magnus.

With a grimace of rage, he groped about for the broken blade. Then he advanced, dodging the few magic spells she was still hurling about, and plunged the shard of metal into her right eye, right into her brain.

At least her death was swift.

***

“Clary, think you could send a message to one of the other warlocks and ask them for help?” Simon asked, his gaze darting left and right. He had a bad feeling, but saying so would be tantamount to tempting fate. _No sir,_ thought Simon Lewis, expert consumer of popular media, _Fate is not to be tempted._

His best friend sighed. “I'm such a doof. I should have thought of it.”

“Well, we always knew I'm the smarter one.”

“Ha ha.” Clary was grinning as she scribbled a message. “Dot should know what to do. There.” She waved her stele and the message zoomed off, but before it could reach the end of the passageway, it shot back, trailing sparks and smokes, before smashing into one of the regular mirrors and combusting.

Both of them were gaping. “That... wasn't supposed to happen, right?” Simon asked, just to be sure.

“No, it really wasn't,” said Clary. “I think we're not gonna be able to get outside help.”

“Guess your idea backfired.” He winced when she smacked him in the shoulder. “Ow? That was funny, okay.”

Clary rolled her eyes at him, but she was smiling. “No, it was really lame.”

Simon blew out his cheeks and tried to look for Magnus again, in that 'sidelong glance into the magic mirror' way Jace told them about. Shifting a few steps to the left, he caught sight of Magnus, now vertical, while a large, lumbering figure seemed to be sitting up to face him, except – Simon squinted – Magnus didn't seem to be responding to the other creature. Then the giant unfolded to lie flat, before he started walking... _vertically?_

“Oh!”

“What? What is it?”

“The, uh, the mirror world, it's sideways,” said Simon. “It's not, reflecting our side, it's tilted ninety degrees.”

Clary was puzzled until she saw what Simon had seen. Then she tilted her head and squinted, looking like an adorable squirrel. “Hey, do you remember Mrs Straczynski?”

“That was the year I nearly failed physics, Fray, so yes, I remember,” Simon said. “Why?”

“She was talking about, um, bubble universes once, when she showed up really hungover. I was drawing bubbles with little worlds in them all lesson.”

Simon was very confused. “What has that got to do with this?”

The redhead bit her lower lip. “See, when bubbles touch, they join together but they don't merge, not immediately. But there'd be one, uh, how do we say it, one facet that link them.”

“You want to move from our bubble of reality to that bubble of reality.”

Clary missed being this in sync with her best friend. Simon understood her like no one did. She smiled, though she was nervous. “Yeah. I've done it before. I mean, last time I had the help of a seelie to open a door in the right direction.”

“Can you even make a portal?”

The young woman grimaced shyly. “Sometimes? I'm four for ten at the moment.”

Simon squeezed her shoulders. “Listen, Fray, you are gonna succeed. Because if you don't, I'm gonna have to revoke your Mario Kart privileges.”

“Oh yeah, you gonna go that route?” Clary retorted, grinning.

“All the way down the Rainbow Road,” Simon warned. “No more Bowser for you.”

This had been how they motivated each other during some of their toughest exams. Clary always had her pick in Mario Kart and Simon was allowed two hours of Taylor Swift when they hung out. Granted, they used to hang out a lot more, but even now, if he asked, Clary would sit and listen to Generic Blonde Singer.

Feeling a lot more settled in her skin, she drew the rune to form a portal. The first try fizzled out, and she cursed under her breath. She stepped away, head in hands, and tried to calm her mind.

“Uh, Fray.” Simon sounded tense.

“What?” She looked around. “Oh.”

The fog was rising again, with two monsters in the hallway. Behind them, a massive humanoid figure loomed, dwarfing both Simon and Clary. _::Bane is not to be disturbed.::_

Simon bared his fangs. Clary drew her seraph blades. The vampire whispered, “Did you just hear his voice in your head?”

Clary nodded. Then she jerked her chin. “Do you see what's behind them?”

A deep indigo portal shimmered, and they could vaguely see Magnus' prone form sprawled beyond.

The redhead smiled and lowered her stance. “I'll play Buffy.”

“You're always Buffy,” Simon teased. He clenched his fists and got ready to run.

***

After a delicious dinner with his father, Magnus sauntered back to his room. Much to his delight, his new slave, Alec, was already cleaned up and dressed, waiting on his knees. He kept his eyes downcast, as was proper. There was only one last thing to do.

“Stand up, Alec,” Magnus ordered.

The young man rose to his feet, a predatory grace in his motions. His gaze flicked up and met Magnus' eyes. The prince felt a quick flash of excitement in his gut when he saw that Alec still had rebellion in his spirit. He circled the slave slowly.

Alec was tall, taller than Magnus himself even, with strong features and hazel eyes. All slaves wore plain linen knee-length tunics, but on Alec the tunic only reached mid-thigh, revealing strong, muscled legs and defined ankles that Magnus wanted to adorn with jewels and chains. The tunic was shapeless, but Magnus could tell that Alec's chest was broad, and ugly angelic runes covered his delectable skin, and there was one large mark on his neck.

“Is Alec short for Alexander?” Magnus asked.

“Yes.” The young man's tone was clipped and cold. His shoulders were tense.

Magnus couldn't resist running a hand over them. “I will call you _Alexander._ That suits you better.” When he was again facing the young nephilim, he cocked his head and watched the play of emotions over Alexander's face. There was something about him that tugged at Magnus. Perhaps it was that willful innocence, that innocence borne of choice rather than youth.

Alexander swallowed audibly, clearly nervous from being stared at. A sweet flush bloomed over his cheeks and down his neck; the tips of his ears practically glowed.

“I like you,” Magnus decided. “You will be my personal slave from now on.”

Alexander blinked rapidly and his lips parted, as if to ask questions, but when Magnus placed a hand at the base of his neck, the young man fell silent.

The prince smiled. “Good. These are my rules. You may speak freely, as long as you are respectful, unless I ask for silence. You may stand in my presence and meet my eyes, unless my father is present. Orders given must be obeyed. And you will wear my mark.”

He pushed a flare of magic into Alexander's skin, feeling the cat's eye sigil form on the young man's skin. Alexander grunted and shook, as if trying to control his convulsions. Then he channeled more magic into the symbol to wipe away the hideous angelic runes. Once he saw that Alexander's skin was unblemished save for Magnus' mark, he let go.

Alexander shivered and swayed on his feet. Perspiration beaded over his entire face and neck. “What did you do?”

“Your allegiance is to me, Alexander.” The prince brushed the back of his hand over Alexander's cheek. “Therefore, you are under my protection. That mark – that tells the entire world that you are mine, and should anyone lay a hand on you, they will no longer have hands.”

“That's...” Alexander struggled to find words. Finally, he said, in a small, lost, young voice, “What do you want with me?”

Here Magnus wondered if he ought to lie and give a glib answer. Instead, he considered. Something about Alexander made Magnus feel soft and warm in his heart, in a way he never did except around his father. “I cannot deny that your innocence is very... tempting,” he said at last. “I want to savor it. But more than that, I want to get to know you. You grew up here, away from my father's rule. How was that like? What horrifying lies have been spread about my father?”

The young man's jaw was tense. “Refugees who come to Idris do not lie.”

“Everyone lies,” Magnus said. He stretched and rolled his shoulders. “No matter. We'll talk tomorrow. Take off your clothes and lie down on my bed.”

“M-my clothes and your... your bed?”

Magnus caught the note of barely suppressed panic. He frowned, and then worked out what had scared Alexander. Rolling his eyes, Magnus whirled around and smiled charmingly at him. “Don't worry. I don't fuck mortals, even if you are nephilim. But I do like that virgin nephilim energy coming off of you and I certainly prefer having someone warm to cuddle up to when I sleep. Now. Clothes, then bed.”

***

Izzy ducked and rolled to avoid a Ravener that flew at her face, nearly colliding into Jace when she stood. “Your fat ass needs to move, Jace.”

“Excuse you, my ass is a perfect size,” Jace shot back, neatly bisecting that same Ravener. “And you're welcome.

In front of them, Maia was already in wolf form, ripping into a cluster of Shax demons and scattering them. Jace's blade swung in tight arcs in front of him to stab the demons that had escaped Maia's wrath. The passage was too narrow for them to do more than fight in single file.

Suddenly wolf-Maia howled in pain. Jace dashed forward, his seraph blade clearing the way and Izzy using her staff to impale the demons' carapaces. The two shadowhunters got to her side and fought off the demons swarming Maia. Once they had some breathing room, Izzy dropped to a knee to check on the werewolf. There were a number of teeth marks along Maia's side and she was convulsing.

“Jace, she's been bitten. Shallow, but some venom's got in there.”

Demon venom. The blond couldn't even spare a glance; more Shax demons were pouring in from narrow openings in the ceiling. “She'll need medicine.”

“Maia? Maia, I need you to change back,” Izzy said. “Then Jace can carry you until we get to someplace safe, okay? We only have a little way to go, I'm sure of it.”

The werewolf trembled violently. Her wolf form twitched and for a second Izzy could see her paw elongate into a human hand, but abruptly, wolf Maia fainted. Izzy stood and snapped her whip at the demons, cracking open their carapaces and burning them to crisps. “Jace, carry her and run. I'll hold them off.”

“I don't know the way, dammit!” Jace hauled the werewolf into his arms and started running. Izzy followed, going back to wielding the pointed end of her staff as a spear to keep the demons off, although they followed from a healthy distance. They came to a junction. “Izzy, I don't know the way!”

“Neither do I, idiot, just pick whichever you think is best!” Isabelle snapped. She twisted sideways to avoid a demon launching at her, before cracking her staff over its back and killing it.

Jace ran. For someone who had just endured torture, he was very speedy. Izzy thanked the Angel that fourteen-year-old Isabelle Lightwood had had Alec shoot arrows at her while she was blindfolded as part of their early training. Their mother hadn't been too pleased by that, even though Alec had used arrows with little round rubber tips than his usual quiver. Izzy had later designed a training program with Hodge that simulated attacks from multiple sides, and she had learned how to protect all angles with her staff.

Her instincts told her to duck, just in time to avoid a needle-sharp stinger from a Ravener's tail. She killed it before it could regroup and flung it at the other demons now pelting after them.

“Shit, it's a dead end.” Jace swiveled around and threw wolf-Maia over his left shoulder, his long blade gleaming in his right hand.

Izzy swore under her breath and dug out her stele. “Jace, you ever learned that sunlight rune thingy? Now's a good time.”

“Sunlight rune – oh, right.” Jace placed Maia on the floor, apologizing under his breath, and scrawled on his palm with Izzy's stele. Then he flashed it at the demons, who shrieked as they combusted. “Why didn't we think of it?”

“Because we haven't become used to it,” said Izzy, rolling her eyes. It seemed like this was the first time since they got to this level that they could actually breathe. “Teach me the rune.”

“Maia first.”

They both bent down to check on the wounds. Jace muttered angrily about not having anything to slow poisons, but Izzy told him to redo the sunlight rune and shine it right on the wounds.

Jace scowled. “How is that supposed to help?”

“Demons don't like the sun, so I'm gonna guess that sunlight might help remove the demon toxins. Besides, I don't have anything better. Do it.” Isabelle watched her brother draw the rune and then focusing that light on the teeth marks. Something black bubbled up from the open wounds and hope squeezed Izzy's heart. Perhaps her last-ditch idea worked. When the rune fizzled out in Jace's hand, she drew it in her own palm and was gratified to see daylight pouring forth. She aimed it at Maria's injury as Jace had done, slowly purging demon venom from the werewolf. 

After five minutes, only plain, red blood was oozing from the wounds. However, Maia didn't wake. Instead, she whimpered and shivered whenever Jace or Izzy touched her. The two shadowhunters stared at each other, unwilling to desert Maia, yet knowing that time was of the essence. Finally, Izzy said, “I'll stay with her. Get Alec, come back for us, then we go to Magnus.”

“You know this is like those horror movies Clary made us watch that other time, right?”

“Jace. We literally kill demons. We live in the horror movies.” Izzy managed a small smile for him. “Quit whining. Go get our brother.”

Once Jace had run out of sight, Izzy settled on the floor next to Maia. She felt small and scared, and that made her cranky. She kept her stele in one hand, ready for use, and her staff was in her other hand. Hopefully another bunch of demons would show up for her to kill.

***

Alec refused to move a step further. He was exhausted, and cold, and hungry, and angry. He needed his weapons and all he had were the tip of a stele that had been in someone's mouth and some prayer beads.

 _Magnus_ , he thought. He prayed. _Magnus. Please be safe. Angels above, I don't care if I die, just make sure he's unharmed._

***

To his own surprise, Magnus found Alexander endlessly fascinating, and for some reason, he couldn't bear the thought of the nephilim being out of sight. For days, he kept the nephilim close as he saw to the ordering of Idris, allocating resources and setting up a council to oversee the colonizing process.

At first, Alexander was very skittish and stood far behind the prince, until Magnus lost his temper spectacularly one afternoon a week later, turning an entire dining room to rubble, and flat-out ordered Alexander to stay less than one arm's length away, unless and until told otherwise.

Of course, when Kavao showed up with a missive, Magnus had to tell Alexander to leave the room and wait just outside the door. “And don't wander off,” he warned.

Kavao waited until the door was shut. “My prince.”

Magnus took the report. “What's the feeling on the ground?”

“They are compliant, your highness,” Kavao murmured. “Most of them are rightfully wary, and so they obey curfew and complete their assigned chores. But Valentine – one of the generals of the rebellion – he's plotting something and has made contact with some of his former subordinates. Ryqqas figured out their code.”

“Tell Ryqqas he can go to Bangalore to have his pick of the herd next full moon as a reward. They always forget that I have conquered the entire world.” Magnus tutted. “Plotting. Get me names of everyone he is trying to recruit and interrogate them, separately. Remind them that my generosity thus far is not a guarantee of future treatment. Do you have any idea what Valentine intends to do?”

Kavao lowered his voice even more. “I personally heard him say something about the Mortal Instruments, your highness.”

Startled, Magnus nearly dropped the report. “Have you told my father?”

“No, your highness,” said Kavao. “I thought you'd like to deal with this personally.”

The prince nodded. “Good. Thank you, Kavao.”

Magnus dismissed his lieutenant and chewed on the knuckle of his thumb. Once Kavao had gone, Alexander walked back inside, keeping close to the prince. The nephilim peered at Magnus, a small frown marring his brow.

“What?” Magnus snapped.

“You seem troubled.”

Magnus made himself chuckle. “Your people are behaving well. Why should I be troubled? No, I was just informed of something unpleasant in another part of the world.” He reached out and stroked his nephilim slave's cheek fondly. “Walk with me in the gardens, Alexander. We've not taken a walk today.”

The slave lowered his head, his ears and cheeks pink as they always were whenever Magnus touched him with tenderness. It just heightened the prince's longing to bask in that clean, delightful aura that surrounded Alexander. He slipped his hand into Alexander's and tugged him along through a portal, stepping out into what used to be the heart of Alicante's fortress.

It was in ruins, of course. Magnus' forces did a thorough job. But some of his warlocks had come back and made it lovely, with creeping ivy climbing up the scorched walls and rose bushes everywhere. Stone paths wove in and out through the garden. Magnus noticed that statues of Asmodeus and himself stood at the center, raised on a marble plinth. It was an obvious ploy to curry favor with the king and the prince, and Magnus felt a smile tugging on his lips. Perhaps he would allow himself to be flattered.

Alexander froze.

“What's wrong?” the prince asked. It was strange that he would ask at all, but Magnus noticed that when it came to his nephilim, he wanted to know everything. “Tell me.”

Taking a deep breath, Alexander murmured, “I was here when... when the fortress fell.”

“Really? I'm glad you survived. It really wasn't much of a fortress though, if it couldn't withstand a single helldrake. How did you survive? I thought my soldiers were very thorough in clearing this dump out.” Magnus wandered ahead, plucking a cream-and-pink rose from one of the bushes and inhaling its sweet scent.

He heard Alexander's breathing catch and then the slave's voice was very wobbly as he said, “Your helldrake killed my parents. They – they saw it and made Ragnor – they made Ragnor take us through a portal.” Magnus straightened and turned to look at his Alexander. The young man's face was awash with tears. “The last thing I saw was the fortress ablaze and an entire roof falling on my parents.”

Magnus felt uncomfortable. There was a tight, sour feeling around his heart, and it wasn't a familiar sensation. He stared at Alexander for a long while, before saying, “Come here.”

Alexander looked like he might refuse. Magnus exerted his will, his mark on the nephilim's skin starting to glow, but the young man strode over, head held high and jaw tense.

The prince cast a stasis spell over the rose and handed it to him. “It was a war. They were on the wrong side.”

Taking the flower absently, Alexander looked like he could cut Magnus to shreds. “We just wanted to live our lives.”

“You and your people are mortal,” Magnus retorted. “All your fates were sealed the second you were born mortal. But-” he covered Alexander's hand with his, feeling his heart racing with that same, strange tightness, “but I can be kind to what's left of your people here, in Idris. To your sister and brother. As long as they respect my rule, I will not harm them.”

“I find it hard to believe,” Alexander said quietly. He turned the rose over in his large hands.

Magnus bit his lower lip. Then he touched Alexander's chin, tilting his face up slightly. “I know my father is a demon, and I am who I am. Yet, when I give my word, I keep it.”

Alexander's internal struggle was clear on his handsome face. Eventually, he had to tear his gaze away and stared at the rose he held. “What do I do with this?”

“Keep it. It's a gift to you.” Magnus pressed a kiss to the nephilim's damp cheek. When Alexander smiled at him, even though it was a wobbly, tiny smile, something about it made Magnus' heart sing.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really like Prince Magnus and might explore that alternate universe another time.


	16. Chapter 16

The shadow beasts were vicious with their claws but not as nearly as mean as Alec in a bad mood. _I'm gonna have to tell him that later,_ Clary thought. She grinned, adrenaline pumping as she barely dodged a swipe at her ribs, and then swerved a clawed hand grabbing for her head. The tips of its claws caught in her hair and she felt the tugging pain as she rolled away.

She was so going to need a trim after this.

While the rest of their bodies were indistinct blurs, the shadow beasts' gaping mouths and clawed limbs were fully formed. The thing that really bothered Clary was that these creatures had mouths that parted vertically and there wasn't any teeth, just a gaping maw of blackness. She wondered if she could render them in charcoal effectively.

At least she had drawn all their attention away from the portal. Even the tall hooded humanoid wasn't paying attention to the portal any longer. While the redhead was battling its pets, Simon had used his vampiric speed to race towards Magnus.

“Got him!” Simon yelled behind her. Clary risked a glance and gave her best friend a thumbs up. The vampire had Magnus in a fireman's carry. “Come on, Fray, let's go!”

The massive figure unfolded with a mental roar that made both Clary and Simon wince. _::Release him at once!::_

“How about no?” Clary smiled sweetly at the tall figure, then charged at it. At the last moment, she ducked and rolled between the shadow beasts, dodged the incredibly long arms, and they took off running, the vampire easily keeping pace with his best friend.

“You get Magnus down to the next level,” Clary panted.

“What about you?”

“I'll hold them off.” She tried to keep herself from wheezing and failed. Izzy was going to laugh at her. They found the stairs leading down and nearly collided with each other as they careened down the spiral steps.

Simon was incredulous. “Clary, not to disparage you, but you're way outclassed by – Jace?”

The blond shadowhunter was at the foot of the steps. “Shit, I've gotten turned around. Hey, you've got Magnus!”

“Yeah, and monsters too,” Simon said. “Where's Izzy?”

Jace looked guilty. “Maia got bit by demons.” Then fog started pouring down the stairs and the shadow beasts burst into the hallway. “Get Magnus away from here.”

“Shit. Sorry Magnus.” Simon ran down the hall and set the unconscious warlock to lean against a wall. He patted Magnus' face, which was beaded with sweat. When Simon risked prying open one of Magnus' eyes, he saw that the pupil was constricted. “Come on, Magnus, wake up.”

The warlock's breathing was slow, so slow as to be nearly undetectable; even the eerie lights that had been swimming under his skin was muted. When Simon concentrated, he could hear Magnus' heartbeat. It was much slower than a regular person's, but the vampire didn't know if that was Magnus' usual pulse rate.

***

“Wear this,” Magnus said, draping a silver necklace with a sapphire pendant around Alexander's neck. “There. It looks good on you.”

Alexander was noticeably pink. “I can't wear this, your highness. It's yours.”

“That's right. Ergo, mine to lend as I wish,” said the prince. He brushed a thumb over his nephilim's lower lip. “You'll have to return by noon tomorrow. Ordinarily, I don't allow my slaves to visit their people, but for my darling Alexander, I'll make an exception.”

“May I... may I stay with my family overnight?” The hope in the young man's voice sent something fluttering in Magnus' gut.

The prince stepped in close to Alexander and placed a hand on that lovely, broad chest. Even the plain linen didn't detract from the thrill of contact that Magnus felt whenever he touched his nephilim. “Of course. It will make you happy, which will make _me_ happy.”

Alexander's smile was shy and genuine. “Thanks. I mean, th-thank you, your highness.”

Magnus couldn't resist combing his fingers through Alexander's dark curls. “If I wasn't going with my father, you'd be required to come back by midnight. Alas, duty calls.” The prince tiptoed and pressed a kiss to the corner of his slave's mouth, and then pressed his thumb to the cat's eye mark at the base of his neck.

“Have fun,” Alexander said.

“Father's in a mood, so you don't have to follow me to his chambers,” said the warlock. Magnus kept himself from looking around at the young nephilim as he strode out of his room.

While he usually adored going on a tour with Asmodeus to their other abodes, for the first time, Magnus didn't really want to leave. It was absurd. Alexander was just a slave, a pretty one, but the prince could have had his pick of good-looking mortals to serve him. But, after merely three weeks, Alexander had come to mean comfort, warmth, sweetness.

Kavao was waiting in the hallway. “My prince.”

“Keep an eye on the slave quarter,” he said to his lieutenant. “My Alexander's going to visit his family. Tell Elias to take note of who approaches him when he is there.”

“Yes, my prince.”

“He's being too meek,” Magnus mused. The fire in Alexander's eyes never quite went away, but the young man never reacted to provocation. “This from a captain under the infamous Valentine Morgenstern... I am certain he has a plan for Alexander to execute.”

Kavao bowed and clapped an arm over his chest. “I will inform Elias, your highness.”

“Report to me tomorrow once we return.”

“Yes, your highness. Pleasant travels.” Kavao bowed once more and left.

The king was sitting in his largest armchair when Magnus entered his father's royal quarters. Asmodeus smiled. “Darling son.”

“Father,” said Magnus, his heart suddenly lighter on seeing the one person he trusted in all the world and beyond. “Where are we going tonight?”

“It's a surprise,” said Asmodeus, kissing his son on the cheek and touching their foreheads together. His golden eyes gleamed. “I love you, my beautiful boy.”

Magnus looped his arms around Asmodeus' slender waist. “I love you too, Father.”

***

 _That's enough self-pity,_ Alec told himself, and pushed to his feet. Not far from him was the unbroken saber that Jade had knocked out of his hand. He picked it up, trying to get used to its weight and balance. It had nothing on his bow and arrows, and was far too light for his liking, but at least he wouldn't be defenseless.

He really needed some clothes though. His boxer-briefs provided little to no protection, and he was fighting the chill with every breath. Even angelic runes could only do so much. He traced the stamina rune on his left hip again and an endurance rune just under the right side of his ribs. Both would keep him going even though he really, really wanted to lie down and be unconscious for a while. Then he also activated night vision as well as the rune to detect spells.

He found his way to the flight of stairs that he had used previously when he had been trapped on this level. As before, the tiles that would trigger traps were aglow with warlock runes. He navigated in the same careful way as he had done previously, although he was fairly sure that Daji already knew where he was since he had just fought and killed one of her accomplices.

It didn't hurt to be careful, however.

***

For the first time in decades, Prince Magnus was speechless.

He and Asmodeus were floating down the Nile, and it was sunset. Before them, the Great Pyramids were sparkling white. In front of them, two sphinxes, each bearing the face of Asmodeus and Magnus.

“I had the pyramids re-clad in white limestone,” the king of demons said, sliding his arm around Magnus' waist and kissing his temple. “Restored to their former glory. Now you know what they looked like before you were born.”

“They're gorgeous,” Magnus whispered. It was hard to speak through the lump of sentiment in his throat. “You remembered.”

Asmodeus chuckled and turned his son to face him. “Darling boy, how could I forget? It was the happiest day of my life, rescuing you from the streets. And look how you've grown.”

Tears welled up in Magnus' eyes and he hugged his father, his face pressed to Asmodeus' neck. “Thank you for loving me, father.”

Asmodeus curled one hand over the back of Magnus' neck and squeezed lightly. His breath was very warm against his warlock son's ear as he murmured, “I will always love you, my beautiful boy. You are my greatest joy and bliss.”

They lay together under the translucent silk canopy, Magnus resting his head on his father's shoulder and his right hand over his father's chest. Asmodeus didn't have a heartbeat. His skin was warm and soft where they touched, and he radiated heat; Magnus tucked his toes under his father's left foot, laughing when Asmodeus ruffled his hair in mock-scolding. One of the slaves knelt beside them when the king beckoned and started feeding them grapes by hand.

“I wish Alexander could be here,” Magnus mused aloud. “He could serve us wine while dressed in one of these tiny linen loincloths.”

“You really like your nephilim pet.” Asmodeus didn't sound very keen on Alexander.

Magnus knew by now that it was best not to discuss something his father didn't like. It was a lovely day, after all, and Asmodeus had prepared such an extravagant surprise for Magnus. “He's just a slave.”

The King of Demons added, “You know I don't begrudge you your other liaisons, son, but a mortal isn't worthy of you.”

“Is anyone worthy of me, though?” Magnus asked, half in jest as his fingers trailed up and down his father's torso. “I am, after all, the son of Asmodeus the Glorious. The one and only Prince of Cats.”

“Magnus yang Cantik,” Asmodeus said with a slow, tender smile. “Magnus the Beautiful.” He kissed his son and relaxed into the pillows again. “My Magnus.”

The prince curled his fingertips into the ends of his father's hair. “Yours.”

The barge floated on under the stars and moon, with silvery lights conjured by Asmodeus drifting alongside the vessel to light their way.

“Magnus?”

“Yes, father?”

“What will you do for me?”

Magnus smiled into Asmodeus' shoulder. “Anything.”

The king hummed and stroked down the line of Magnus' spine, his hand lingering in the small of his back. “Good.”

***

Izzy heard the bellowing, a distorted moan echoing down the labyrinthine hallways, but she didn't know what it was. Had Jace encountered yet another demon?

Next to her, Maia made an unhappy sound, almost a groan, before slowly transforming back into her human form. Isabelle quickly covered her with the tee that had been entrusted to her earlier, making sure to avert her gaze from the lean, shapely legs on display. If Maia wasn't already dating Simon, Izzy would have been sorely tempted to ask her out. Of course, that also depended on whether Maia was into women in the first place...

“Hey,” the werewolf said, her voice husky and raw. She tugged on the shirt and pulled on her shorts. “What happened?”

“You got scraped by some demons,” said Izzy. “Jace and I burned the demon venom out of you with sunlight.”

Maia raised an eyebrow and checked her side. The scratches were pink but already healing. She smiled. “It's handy to keep you shadowhunters around after all.”

Izzy was about to make a smartass reply when suddenly they heard another terrifying roar. Maia was on her feet in an instant. “What was that?”

“I sent Jace ahead,” said Izzy, rising as well. “Hope he hasn't met a demon too big for him.”

“Has he ever?”

“He never admits it, so I don't know.” She looked Maia over, assessing. “You sure you're okay?”

Maia stretched and shook herself. “I'm hard to kill.” Grinning, she added, “Hope I didn't jinx myself.”

***

When Magnus returned alone to Idris, it was the wee hours of the morning. He was still rather sore, but at least his father was in a good mood again. Expecting to be alone for the night, he was surprised to see Alexander asleep under the covers when he entered the bedroom, his arms wrapped about the pillow Magnus usually slept on.

It was a very sweet picture. Magnus shut the door with a flick of his wrist. He walked quietly to the bed, brushing his fingers over the velvety petals of a bouquet of lilies set in a vase and admiring their delicate beauty, and then sat down behind Alexander.

The nephilim stirred but didn't wake. In repose, he looked exceedingly young and innocent, with a soft vulnerability that Magnus had never seen on him before. His heart suddenly lurched, filled with tender yearning. He wanted this, all for himself. Leaning down, he brushed his lips over Alexander's temple.

That woke the young man. His eyes fluttered open and he startled badly, scrambling to sit up without colliding with Magnus. “Your highness, I'm sorry, I wasn't expected – I mean, I wasn't expecting you to be home, not yet, I am so sorry-”

“Hey, it's alright,” said Magnus, patting the slave's cheek with a soft smile. Alexander's hair was mussed into a wild mess atop his head. Magnus combed through the curls with his fingers until the dark hair was somewhat tamed, cognizant that Alexander's eyes had slowly closed and his lips had parted with a sigh. Alexander himself seemed unaware of the picture he was presenting, too; he was naked, the way Magnus made him sleep, but he was wearing the sapphire that the prince had draped around his neck that morning, and his entire posture was relaxed and open. He was entirely irresistible.

Magnus didn't resist. Leaning in, he kissed Alexander on the lips. Alexander inhaled sharply, yet he didn't draw away, so Magnus slid his hand around the back of Alexander's neck and deepened the kiss. His other hand skated down Alexander's chest and flat belly, tugging aside the silk sheets impatiently to reveal all of the nephilim to the air.

Alexander was soon moaning quietly and desperately under Magnus' ministrations. The silk sheets rustled as his feet shifted for purchase, and his hands flailed about behind him.

Magnus pulled away, leaving the space of a breath between them. “You may touch me, Alexander.”

The nephilim's eyes were wide, his pupils blown. His breathing was labored from just the kisses and the caressing touches, and Magnus wasn't unaware of the undercurrent of nervousness in the young man's gaze. He decided to be generous and whispered, against Alexander's plush lips, “Touch me, everywhere.”

Alexander gulped audibly. He touched the prince's cheek first, trailing his fingers along Magnus' jawline, and then over the shell of one ear, down the neck and along the collarbone, as if he was touching something exquisitely rare and fragile. Then he licked his lips. “May I... May I kiss you, please?”

“Yes,” said Magnus, barely able to restrain himself from pinning the young man down and debauching him thoroughly. “Yes, Alexander, do kiss me before I die from a lack of kisses.”

Alexander chuckled, and then flushed deeply pink when he realized he'd laughed. Smiling, Magnus slid his hand over Alexander's waist and down to his hip, squeezing lightly.

“Kisses, Alexander,” he said.

The young man surged forward and captured Magnus' lips. He was clumsy but enthusiastic, and Magnus grinned into the kisses, allowing Alexander to pull him close. Parting his lips, the warlock prince let Alexander explore his mouth, vocally expressing his delight at Alexander's passion. He straddled the young man and ground his hips down, drawing out a truly wondrous noise from Alexander's throat. The prince could feel his nephilim's body responding to him, and with some magic, fed some of his own lust back into Alexander.

Perhaps that was what broke the final bit of the young man's resistance, because he started begging for Magnus to just _take_ him, and who was Magnus to deny Alexander?

***

With Jace fighting alongside her, Clary felt twice as confident in her attacks, knowing that she would not be hurt. The shadow beasts had already fallen, one to a strike in presumably its face, the other sliced into three by Jace. The large humanoid figure had just thrown off its cloak, revealing a bone-plated torso and incredibly long arms with two elbows on each.

“Do you remember what Alec taught you about fighting guys with a longer reach?” Jace asked.

Clary nodded.

“Good. Go for it.”

“ _If you're in a fight with someone larger than you – and in your case, that's probably about ninety per cent of the time – then you have to evade and dodge.” Alec punched and jabbed at her. She slipped under the first three, and the fourth strike caught her shoulder. He paused right there, his fist on her deltoid muscle. “Be prepared to take a punch, but don't try to take it too stiffly. Slide back with the attack so most of the momentum is lost – that's right.”_

“ _How do I counter, then?”_

“ _You're tiny like a mosquito. What do mosquitoes do?” Alec's grin was teasing, and what a difference from their first few training sessions when he had been standoffish and rude._

_She glared at him playfully. “Hey, just because my best friend is a vampire-”_

“ _Bugs of the same stripe. Okay, no, seriously. Move in close and strike at the unexpected places. Try me.”_

_***_

The warlock prince tried and failed to get his pulse under control as he lay under the welcome weight of his nephilim. For all that Alexander had never had sex, he was certainly gifted in many ways, not least in his stamina and determination to give pleasure. Magnus was very, very glad that he had picked Alexander that day from the mass of slaves.

His nephilim slave had just slipped out of Magnus, his broad, hairy chest heaving as he gulped in deep breaths. Alexander's eyes were closed, dark lashes fanned on his cheeks. If Magnus didn't currently feel like he was floating, he would want to kiss the closed lids. He wanted to kiss Alexander all over.

He did kiss him on the lips, quite drunk with happiness. “I love you, darling Alexander.”

“Magnus,” Alexander groaned, voice rough as sand, “by the _Angel_ , why? Why you?”

The prince froze. It was the first time Alexander said his name, and something about that sent shivers down his spine. He pushed the nephilim off. “What do you mean, why me?”

The young man sat back on his heels and bit his lower lip. He shook his head, then tried to get off the wide bed. Magnus grabbed his wrist and, when Alexander struggled, flicked his fingers to bind the nephilim. The prince then shoved him to kneel on the floor.

“Tell me what you meant,” he ordered. His sigil glowed when Alexander refused to speak. “Tell me!”

Finally, Alexander gritted out, “Valen- Valentine.”

“Valentine Morgenstern? What did he want?”

Instead of elaborating, Alexander closed his eyes, his mouth clamped shut even when Magnus' symbol glowed red hot. Beads of sweat rolled down his flushed face. The prince steeled his heart against the pain etched on Alexander's features, but eventually he released the pressure. Instead he grabbed the vase of flowers on the side table and threw it against a wall. Glass and water sprayed everywhere, and in a fit of pique, Magnus sent a burst of magic at the blooms and incinerated them. Then he swiveled around, his wrath rising, ready to personally hurt his nephilim slave for his obstinacy.

He stopped mid-stride.

Alexander was _crying._ Slouched over, he looked tired and alone, lost in the darkness. Magnus could feel his throat closing up with an unfamiliar self-loathing and rising panic. “Why – why are you – Alexander, stop, stop crying, I can't... Alexander, please, I don't-” He released the bonds keeping the nephilim from moving and dropped to his knees to cradle Alexander to himself.

The young man folded into Magnus' arms, pliant and miserable, his entire body shuddering as he wept. He kept apologizing, but his words were muffled or broken up.

Magnus helped Alexander to sit up, bracing him against himself, rubbing his hands over his nephilim's sweat-damp skin, until the young man had calmed down somewhat.

“I'm sorry,” he whispered. “I'm sorry.”

“What are you sorry about?”

“My loyalty's to my people,” Alexander continued, not answering Magnus' question. “I want to love you, I swear, I do want to, but I can't, Magnus, I can't, I mustn't.”

Again a strange tingling shot down the warlock's spine. He clutched Alexander closer, pressing kisses to every bit of skin he could reach. “Yes, yes you can, Alexander, you can, I promise, just tell me what I can do-”

Alexander grabbed Magnus and kissed him deeply. “There's nothing you can do now,” he whispered. “I'm so sorry. I am so sorry. But my people come first.”

Magnus was confused and suddenly frightened. “Alexander, what have you done?”

“I wish... I wish it could've been different,” the nephilim murmured, lips brushing Magnus' mouth. “If only you'd been just another warlock, not the Prince of Cats. If only – if only there'd been a different way, but there isn't, there isn't.” He kissed the side of the prince's face. “You have good in you, I know, but they didn't understand. I did try to save you, I promise I did.”

Magnus was about to speak when a brilliant white glow lit up the outside. Magnus tensed. “What's happening?

“The angel Raziel has come to cleanse the world.” Alexander's voice was full of regret. His face was wet as he held Magnus as tightly as he could. “I am so sorry.”

***

Clary ducked and weaved, dancing in and out of reach of the creature. Its size was daunting but it was not as fast, and Jace kept distracting it with attacks to its left flank. For a long while she could only dodge and avoid he sweeping strikes, until she saw two places where there were no bone plates covering its skin. She rolled and came up barely inches from it.

“Clary, watch out!”

Clary stabbed both her blades into the two thin gaps under the creature's arms, just as a fist connected with her right shoulder and sent her flying into the wall. Then Jace barreled in, his longer blade impaling the figure in the throat and driving it back.

That did the job. The creature reared back, shaking, roaring unintelligibly in their heads. Jace and Clary covered their ears, to no avail. Perhaps they were screaming too. The redhead fell to her knees, hair falling around her face. Vaguely, she registered a burst of flame and ash.

Then, silence. The smell of sulfur wafted in the air.

The two shadowhunters glanced at each other. Then Jace came over and helped Clary up. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she answered, though her shoulder a mess of sharp, stabbing pain. She drew an _iratze_ and winced as the healing spell reversed the damage. “Were you supposed to find the way down?”

“I was, but I got turned around.” Jace made a face. “I hate mazes.”

Before Clary could respond, Simon called out, “Magnus is awake!”

 


	17. Chapter 17

When Magnus opened his eyes, he was badly startled by the three pairs of eyes staring at him. He scrambled backwards and collided with the wall, his heart pounding wildly. He was in a passage made of stone, and he could sense old magic, far older than his own, soaked into the structure itself.

One of them reached out to him, as if soothing a spooked child. “Magnus, it's alright, it's safe.”

“Who are you?” the warlock asked, eyes wide. “How dare you use my name this freely?”

The redhead paused. “Magnus, it's us. It's me, Clary. We're your friends.”

“Guys,” said the dark-haired young man in the back of the group,”his eyes.”

“Hey, man, what was the last thing you remember?” the muscular blond young man asked.

Magnus mentally shook himself. What was the last thing he remembered? There was a blinding white light, and pain, and... “Alexander.”

The blond young man raised an eyebrow. “Really? You remember him and not all of us?”

“Jace!” the young woman calling herself Clary scolded. To Magnus, she said, “What do you recall about Alec?”

“He tried to kill me,” Magnus snarled, gathering magic in his hand. Hurt and rage coiled together in his heart. “My own _slave_ tried to kill me-”

“That's not possible, he'll never do that to you,” Clary protested.

“Whoa, hold on,” said the dark-haired boy. “What do you mean, your own _slave_?”

Magnus narrowed his eyes and glared at him. Then he hesitated. “You're a vampire.”

“Uh... yeah?” The vampire squinted at him. “Were you hit on the head?”

“Why do you speak to me like we're equals? Who are these mortals?” Magnus demanded.

The vampire glanced at the young humans. “They're our friends, Magnus.”

Magnus wanted to retort that he didn't have friends when two other young women sprinted around the corner. One was familiar to Magnus.

“Isabelle?” he said.

“Magnus! Thank the Angel,” Isabelle said. “I was worried that we'll never get you out of the mirror.”

Clary shook her head. “He doesn't remember that.”

“What? What does he remember?” the other young woman with scars on her neck asked. A subtle check with his magic told Magnus that she was a werewolf.

“He remembers Alec,” the young man called Jace said, with an undertone of exasperation.

The vampire added, “He said Alec tried to kill him.”

Isabelle's face wrinkled up in utter disbelief. “That's rubbish.”

Magnus stared at all of them, only just taking in the runes on the three mortals. “You're nephilim,” he blurted out.

“Yes, Magnus, we're shadowhunters. You know this.” Isabelle went down on one knee to take a better look at the warlock, her warm brown eyes full of concern. “Just now, you were taken into a different dimension by a demon. Tall, humanoid, three-jointed arms, deep green. Did the demon do something to you?”

The werewolf spoke up next. “Is no one pointing out the obvious? Magnus isn't hiding his warlock mark.”

The warlock glared. “Why in the world would I hide my eyes? I'm proud to be the son of Asmodeus. All of you – all of you should be _kneeling_ – where the _hell_ am I? Where is my father?”

Mouth agape, Isabelle reached out a hand. “Magnus, we are in China to save Alec, my brother. Your boyfriend. He's being held against his will by three warlock women somewhere at a lower level. You portaled us here, because you need fighters. He needs you to... to _be_ you. Not whoever you think you are.”

“Uh... Izzy?”

“Simon, wait.”

“No, Izzy, demons,” the vampire said. “Magnus, are you able to stand?”

The warlock shook off Isabelle's helping hand and got to his feet. His outfit wasn't what he had been wearing earlier, and there was something not quite right about his thoughts, like there was another voice insistently yelling in the distance. He glanced to his left and saw a brood of ravener demons, creeping forward down the hallway.

_Demons. Demons can access memories across dimensions._

Magnus reached deep into himself and _stretched_ , the core of his power soon unfurling through his veins. Golden and crimson lights danced over his skin and he smiled – his father was with him, in him; this was his work. Pushing through the group of young mortals, Magnus came before the lowly demons, with magic coiled glittering silver around his hands.

“I am the Prince of Cats,” he said. “I now command your fealty.”

The first row of raveners inched forward, as if doubtful of his claim. Magnus lashed out with his left hand, leaving behind a sizzling line in the stone.

“Holy shit,” Simon the vampire whispered.

Magnus raised his chin and drew upon his father's protection. The lights that had been swimming under his skin suddenly enveloped him, golden and red, until all of Magnus' skin was shielded with warlock and demonic runes. He could feel the pulse of his sigil on his brow, and Asmodeus' presence at the base of his neck. He smiled humorlessly.

“The Prince of Cats command your fealty,” he repeated in the tongue of Edom.

The raveners skittered and chirruped, before coming to a complete halt. Not a single scale or sting stirred. They pressed their heads to the floor.

Magnus let the glow of the runes fade. “Show me the way down.”

Behind him, the warlock could hear the mortals and the young vampire furiously debating the situation. He ignored their chatter and followed the demons.

The stones were ancient, and Magnus could feel the tug of forgotten magic in them. These walls had seen dark things and whispered at him. He was very tempted to stay and read their secrets, but if Isabelle was right, then his Alexander was somewhere out there, and Magnus would be damned if he'd let anyone but himself kill the slave for trying to assassinate him.

***

On the sixth level, Alec was lost.

He had scratched marks on the tiles with the stele, but he kept returning to this one pillar. Sagging against it, Alec wondered why he even bothered. Daji would find him easily anyway. He tried his best not to look up at the ceiling. Unlike the other levels, this sixth level had a tall ceiling, and cages were hung from it.

Many cages, each holding one small corpse.

Alec didn't want to look at the floor, but he could smell it. If this hadn't been deep underground, he would be stepping in maggots right now.

But seeing this, knowing that the warlocks had no qualms killing innocent babies... Alec knew that he was going to savor the moment he or the others kill them. He wouldn't send them to the Clave. He wanted them to die, and one thing for sure: he wanted Daji to pay.

***

The raveners led them to the stairs, but chittered nervously when Magnus ordered them to head down.

“Maybe there are traps,” the nephilim called Jace supplied.

Magnus levelled him with a glare. “I know there are traps. I want them to set the traps off so I won't be caught.”

Jace frowned. “Can't you disable them?”

 _By my Father, he is so dumb._ Magnus ignored him and snapped out an order to the raveners. When they hesitated, he threw them with his magic down the steps. Immediately, metal arrows rained out of the stairs, impaling the hapless demons to the far wall. Those that didn't die fled into the ceiling.

“This is much easier,” Magnus remarked as he traipsed downwards, past the squirming creatures nailed to the stones. The next level was an open space, lit with pools of light, but outside of the small areas of illumination was utter darkness.

Isabelle hurried forward and grabbed his forearm. “Magnus, stop.”

Magnus looked at where she held him. “Let go, or I will cut that filthy hand off.”

“What? Magnus, what is wrong with you?” she demanded. “Look, I don't like demons. No one does. But the Magnus I know wouldn't have done that.”

“The Magnus you know must be really weak and pathetic then,” the warlock prince sneered.

“He is the strongest man I know,” Clary cut in. She was tiny, but her temper made her seem taller. “The Magnus I know is flamboyant and proud of what he's accomplished, and genuine, and sarcastic and kind and the warmest, most caring man I have ever met.”

Isabelle nodded, not releasing her grip. “He is – You are – selfless and sweet, taking care of those who didn't have as much power as you did. You – if you were yourself, then you would never have been cruel, even to demons.”

A new voice piped up, low and suggestive. “If you call that cruel, child, then you don't know what real cruelty is.” The owner of the voice stepped into a nearby patch of light, a slim woman dressed in maroon and scarlet with dewy eyes. “Hello. We've not met. My name is Hu Xi Mei.”

“I don't care what your name is,” Magnus said.

A swirl of purple and blue swirled about her slender frame. “That's fine. You won't matter after midnight.” Portals popped open behind her and a handful of slavering Raum demons sprang out, their white scales gleaming. “Oh, and thank you for bringing food for my pets.”

“She's... she's talking about us, isn't she?” The vampire sounded nervous, as if he wasn't singularly capable of ripping the demons apart by hand.

Magnus rolled his eyes. Wherever this was, vampires certainly were far too timid. If his former paramour was here, she'd have already torn one of the Raum demons apart. If she hadn't cheated on him with some younger warlock, Magnus would have liked Camille with him. Well, he had had her sealed in a steel coffin and dropped to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, so he at least had that satisfaction.

“Activate your glamours,” Isabelle ordered. “These foul-smelling things can't detect seraphic magic.”

The warlock Xi Mei crossed her forearms and the purple-blue swirls intensified around her. She snapped her arms down, the glow coalescing around her hands, and she smiled. “I can see you though.” She clicked her tongue and flung the magic in her hands at the group.

Magnus wheeled around and caught the blast, returning it instantly. The nephilim scattered, while the vampire scooped up the werewolf and ran into the shadows. The Raum demons hooted wildly and broke off, with one staying beside Xi Mei and the others disappearing after the rest.

Xi Mei's fingers curled and formed a ball of magic between her palms. “I hear you were the warlock who discovered how to stabilize portals.”

Not bothering with idle chitchat, Magnus pushed magic into his palms and drew a glowing silver spear before him that he hurled right at her. She blocked it, returning two volleys, and then another three portals popped open around Magnus, pouring a handful of lesser demons into their space. There was a screeching hoot and then a faint sulfurous smell wafted forth. One of the Raum demons was dead.

“No matter,” said Xi Mei. “Plenty of demons to call on. Go on, kill him.”

None of the demons moved, other than the Raum demon behind her. A whip sang out and snagged it around its neck, dragging it off into the thick darkness.

Xi Mei was suddenly worried. “What is going on?”

Magnus caught sight of a familiar face and the corner of his lips curled. “Kavao.”

“My prince,” the Eidolon demon replied in the tongue of Edom, bowing low. “We have done as you asked. There are no demons left in Brooklyn, and human memories have been adjusted. Your subjects have fed on those memories of terror and confusion, your highness, and we thank you for the feast. We were on the way back to Edom when this warlock caught us and sent us here.”

“Well done,” said Magnus, although he had no idea what Kavao was talking about. Magic crackled over his skin and he looked at Xi Mei. “There are other Raum demons out there. Kill them, and then bring the vampire and werewolf to me, unharmed.”

The woman started backing away. Her magic glittered madly as she cast shielding enchantments around her, but Magnus dispelled each of them with ease as he advanced. The voice in his head, the one insisting that something was off, had become quite silent as he focused on the fight.

His arms swept loose arcs diagonally from right to left, his fingers flicking in a complicated sequence as he wove charms and incantations. Sparks of deep purple and gold fluttered out to form an arc above his head, like a demonic halo, and every attack Xi Mei flung at him was deflected by it.

Ancient remnants of magic spells trapped in the stones of the structure murmured, resonating with the dark magic Magnus was using. It made sense; Magnus was casting spells his father designed even before language was crafted, in the age before angels sullied the earth with their bastards.

“You – you're not this strong,” Xi Mei stammered as she was slowly cornered. “I've watched you! You could barely sustain more than a portal at a time. You have no power!”

Magnus knew that his demons and the young nephilim, along with the other two Downworlders, were standing behind him, watching.

_Good. Time to remind them who I am._

He spread his arms wide, orbs of dark purple pulsing in both hands, and abruptly clapped them together. The spell crashed together and he shoved forward, pushing Xi Mei into the wall behind him.

“I am the son of Asmodeus the Glorious, the Subjugator and Conqueror Eternal,” Magnus said, enunciating calmly and coolly. “I am Magnus Bane, Magnus yang Cantik, Magnus the Prince of Cats. And you think I have no power? Here, where the stones themselves long to bend to _my will_?”

Xi Mei threw all her magic into one aggressive curse that forced Magnus back one step. He bore the stinging pain for a second before shattering it with a single counter-spell.

“Not bad,” said Magnus. Then he shoved one hand out before him, a tendril of dark purple magic coiled around Xi Mei and pulling her off the floor. “But let me show you what a real pro can do.”

***

Jace could barely restrain himself from killing the assembled demons, but given the strange mood Magnus was in, Izzy and Clary both dissuaded him. They kept well back from the demonspawn, however, and Maia and Simon stayed with them. Their view was somewhat obscured but they really didn't want Magnus to know what they were discussing.

While Jace had always known that Magnus was powerful, he hadn't expected such effortless dismantling of the enemy. If this was Magnus' real potential, what did he need the shadowhunters here for?

Then Magnus caught the red-clad warlock woman in his spell, trapping her against the wall and choking her with his magic.

“Did you know that everything has memory?” Magnus asked aloud. “And these walls... oh, the stories they can tell.” He walked up to the wall where Xi Mei was pinned and placed a palm flat on the surface. “Such terrible tales of torture and terror.”

“What is he doing?” Jace asked under his breath.

Maia's jaw was tense. “Playing with his prey.”

“He's not cruel like that,” Clary said heatedly. “Not Magnus.”

“I don't think that is the Magnus we know,” Maia commented. She had never been one to shy away from stating the harshest truth. “Whatever happened to him in the mirror... This is not the Magnus that brought us here.”

As they were talking, Magnus stepped away from the stone wall, both palms facing outwards, away from him, and then drew his hands together in a prayer pose. Jace moved forward, thinking of asking Magnus outright what transpired in the mirror, when Xi Mei started begging for mercy. The blond shadowhunter made his way around the demons and then clapped a hand over his mouth before he could be sick.

“Magnus, what the hell-” Izzy pushed forward. “Oh my god. Magnus, stop, what are you _doing_?”

“You just have to incapacitate her, Magnus, this isn't necessary!”

The warlock barely glanced at the two of them. “When I want your opinion, I will... never want your opinion.”

“Please, please, I submit to the authority of the Clave, I'll help you save the Lightwood boy, please no no NO!” Xi Mei was screaming now. The wall was absorbing her, inch by inch, swallowing her into the stone. “Please I swear I swear I won't even retaliate, I'll help, free me please!”

Appalled, Jace rushed to the wall and tried to hack at the stone. He could do nothing – Xi Mei was not only being engulfed by the stone, she was _becoming_ part of the stone, fusing into it. Overwhelmed by shocked pity, Jace then shifted his seraph blade to give her a quick end, and was flung aside by an invisible force.

It was Magnus. “Don't interfere.”

“Magnus, this is too much!” Clary cried out. “Just – just kill her and be done with it, why are you doing this?”

“Because I want to,” Magnus replied. He turned to look at her. There was no warmth in his golden cat's eyes and started stalking towards her. The demons parted before him. “Perhaps you'd like to know that she used to portal people into solid rock. It was amusing to her. Do you know that every single wall on this level has swallowed at least one of her victims? Do you think someone like that deserves mercy, mortal girl?”

Clary paled. Maia took a step in front of the redhead. “She may not be deserving of mercy, but you are not one to inflict cruelty for cruelty's sake, Magnus. Not _this_ you, anyway.”

“This _is_ me! I have no idea why it is so difficult for you to accept who I am.”

Seeing that the warlock was distracted, Jace crept back to Xi Mei, who was now sobbing, with only her face and neck showing.

“Do it,” she whispered. She glared at something behind him. “Big Sister will avenge me.”

There was nothing Jace could do to save her from the stone, so he just took a deep breath and gave her the only help he could.

“He's not going to be pleased about that,” a soft voice murmured.

Jace swiveled around, blade at the ready.

The Eidolon demon Magnus had addressed as Kavao held up a hand between them. The other demons had circled the others, who were all standing at the ready. “I'm on your side right now. That warlock – he's bad news if he continues this way, bad news for everyone.”

“You're a fucking demon, I don't trust you.”

“I like my existence as it is, alright? I get to do my own thing, answering to no one. But if-” Kavao lowered his voice to a sibilant hiss, “if the Prince of Cats returns, then this world becomes Edom, do you understand? A lesser demon like me will be a mere rat, hunting for scraps. If I read his aura properly, his mind has been co-opted by another consciousness from a different plane. It's trying to assert itself as the predominant personality. You have to get his consciousness, the one that belongs here, to this realm, back on top. Now pretend I've warned you about disobeying the prince and get back to your friends.”

Jace threw up his hands. “Fine. Whatever. I just wanted her to tell me a little more about my parabatai.”

“Did you have to kill her?” Magnus glowered at him.

“She said he was as good as dying,” Jace snapped, heart racing.

There was a strange expression on the warlock's face. “Is he?”

“No.” Jace swallowed. “But I don't think we should delay any longer. We only have slightly more than an hour to get out of here before midnight. Alec wouldn't want you risking your life for him.”

Magnus' shoulders tensed. His golden eyes flashed dark, and then back to gold. He shook his head. “Kavao, you and the others lead the way.”

Izzy snapped out her whip. “No. No demons. I don't trust them.”

“Not your call,” said Magnus, flinging the girl aside. To the demons, he growled, “What are you waiting for? Find me the way down to the next level!”

The demons slunk forward, a frightened pack, and Kavao cast a look of despair and urgency at Jace. For the first time in his entire life, Jace felt pity for a demon.

 


	18. Chapter 18

The way down to the sixth level was through a hole in the wall, apparently. The demons hung back, reluctant to move even a step further. Maia didn't like the smell of it either.

“It reeks of old blood in there,” she said.

Simon licked his lips. “A few hours old, most of it.”

Maia smirked when both Jace and Isabelle made a face at Simon; she was used to vampires and their thing with their B-word. She herself liked her steak so raw that it could probably moo.

The Eidolon shapeshifter was practically groveling before Magnus. He repeatedly apologized but insisted that this was the way to the next level, that it wasn't a joke, that he was indeed a loyal servant.

Maia didn't like seeing that. Magnus – the Magnus she knew – wouldn't have stood for anyone, mundane, Downworlder, shadowhunter, or demon – being forced into subservience. Her great-grandaunt had told her and her cousins about being made to apologize for the things her white mistress did wrong; the lashes, the scolding, the kicks.

“Don't none of you let someone else bend your knees,” Aunt Beth had said. “You kneel for God, you kneel to help, you kneel for love. But don't none of you kneel for a bully. We done enough of that.”

Aunt Beth wouldn't have stood for it. Magnus, the better Magnus, wouldn't have stood for it. And Maia for sure as hell was not about to stand for it. “That's enough, Magnus.”

“Stand aside, werewolf,” the warlock snarled.

“Or you'll make me, I know.” Maia took a deep breath. She had enough experience working a bar to know how to de-escalate a situation. “Look, we're all here to get Alec. We just need to think of a way to get down there.”

“I want to send the demons down.” The warlock glared at her, his kohl-lined eyes even more striking with his cat's eyes on full display. They gave Maia chills, and not in a good way. Magnus looked at her like she was _prey._ “Kavao is giving excuses.”

The demon cringed. “There are wards blocking the entrance. Demons can't go through it. At least not us lesser demons.”

“Then what is the point of you?” Magnus drawled dangerously, raising a hand that started glowing silver and mauve. “Your existence is no longer necessary, is it?”

Maia caught his hand before he could swing the bolt of magic at Kavao. The warlock's surprise made him lose focus, and whatever he had gathered in his hand fell apart. The magic sparked along her arm, stinging like bursts of electricity and hot iron nails. It would have been a painful death had it struck home.

Simon was gaping, as if shocked that Maia would even dare to stop Magnus. She ought to be insulted by his surprise. _I find your lack of faith... disturbing._

“If they can't go down there, threatening them with death isn't going to make them suddenly capable of circumventing the wards,” Maia said, focusing on the more urgent matter instead of her aching hand. “You brought us here because you need muscle. We can do this without them.”

Magnus pulled away from her violently, nostrils flaring. Then he turned towards the narrow opening and peered into it, sending a little glow dancing into its depths.

Maia relaxed and met Simon's gaze. Suddenly, Magnus flung a globe of silver light at the still-cowering demons. The demon Kavao barely had the chance to scream before he and all the others were incinerated to nothing, leaving behind a stench of sulfur, ash, and blood.

The warlock glanced over his shoulder. “Don't _ever_ interrupt me again, bitch.”

Simon took a step forward but Maia shook her head and Clary grabbed his wrist. Jace's jaw clenched, as if he was holding back some words. Magnus ignored them all and walked right through the opening.

Izzy scowled. “I can't wait for our Magnus to return. Are you sure you grabbed the right Magnus, Simon?”

“There was only one of him, okay? I did look around.” The vampire was openly showing his fangs now. “Something got in his head.”

Maia nodded. “He smells the same as he did before he was trapped behind the mirror.”

“Well, any reference to Alec throws him off, just a bit, so I for one am hoping my parabatai can cure him,” said Jace. He created a witchlight and sent it floating into the opening. “Come on. Whoa – watch your step.”

As they ventured inside one by one, Maia saw what Jace meant. It was a spindly spiral metal staircase, each narrow step jutting out from a thick central column, and there was no external wall,just a thin metal rail that seemed way too flimsy. It was just suspended in midair. Some steps were missing as well, and below them was pure darkness. Jace was leading the way, Clary behind him, then Maia, Isabelle, and Simon. Maia wondered if the support could take all their weight, and then realized that she really didn't want to know if it couldn't.

After what felt like a hundred steps, Jace called out, “We've got a problem.”

“What is it?” Izzy asked.

“There aren't any more stairs,” Clary said, leaning around. She was the only one who seemed comfortable on the narrow steps.

“Good news is that I can see a ledge just below that seems to lead into another doorway,” Jace went on. “Bad news? It's pretty far down. I'm guessing easily twenty-five, thirty feet.”

Maia gulped nervously. She was not good with heights. Depths, water... not an issue. But heights made her nervous, the same way enclosed spaces made her uncomfortable. It wasn't a full phobia but she certainly had her reservations.

Jace peered around the column. “Izzy, lend me your whip. Clary, you think you can make the jump?”

The redhead bit her lip. “I can try?”

“Wait, let me see,” said Simon. “Sorry, 'scuse me, lemme just... Hey babe.” He pecked a quick kiss on Maia's lips as he squeezed past her very cautiously, putting her on the inside against the column, because he was thoughtful that way. The vampire made his way to Jace. “Yeah I can jump that.”

“What do you need my whip for?” Isabelle asked even as she was coiling it up to pass it forward.

“I'll lower Clary as far as she can go, then she can make the drop at a closer distance.”

“Wow, thanks for volunteering me.”

“What,” Jace said, almost teasingly, “you planning on holding my weight? Come on, Tinkerbell.”

Maia rolled her eyes. Those two were disgustingly cute sometimes. She hoped she and Simon were more disgustingly cute. Apparently her vampire boyfriend thought the same, because he retorted, “You give me toothache. Anyway, I'll go first, and then catch the girls, and Jace can drop down last.”

“You're gonna catch me,” said Jace flatly.

“Yes, I am. Get over it.” Then there was a sound of fabric flapping, and then Simon's voice floated up. “Guys, it stinks like an abattoir down here.”

Jace wound the whip around his wrist once and Clary grabbed the other end. She sat down on the bottom step, before letting herself drop. The whip went taut, and then loosened.

“I've got Clary,” Simon called up to them. “Maia?”

 _Oh shit. I can't do that. I can't do that._ The werewolf shook her head. “Isabelle, you first.”

Both shadowhunters must have seen the apprehension in Maia's eyes, because Izzy merely stepped forward and let herself drop. Below, Simon confirmed that he had caught her.

“Come on Maia,” said Jace softly. His smile was encouraging. “You don't have to let go until you feel ready to, okay? And Simon is down there, waiting.”

“I don't like heights,” she admitted, though it was probably very obvious.

Jace squeezed her bicep firmly. “Hey. It'll be over before you know it.”

“Like the time we...” She smirked, trying her best to hide her nerves.

“Hey, I made sure you knew it,” Jace retorted jokingly. He passed her one end of Isabelle's whip. “Simon will catch you.”

Maia took a deep breath. Demons, Valentine's goons, other werewolves... She could face them without an ounce of fear, but put her on a platform just a little higher than ground level and she was freaking out. She sat on the edge. Her feet dangled into empty air. Below, Simon was peering up, his arms reaching out for her.

Patting her on the back, Jace murmured, “Just inch your way out.”

“I can't,” Maia whispered, her pulse beginning to race and a white static noise filled her ears.

“You can. Just scoot forward a little. That's it.” Jace sounded encouraging as Maia shifted. “Okay. Close your eyes, and listen to me. A little more. And a little more. And – I have you, I have you.”

Maia stifled her scream as she dangled from the end of the whip. She was holding on with both hands, knuckles possibly creaking with how tightly she was gripping, and she could taste blood in her mouth where she bit her lip in the fall.

Hanging there in the middle only ratcheted up her anxiety. Maia forced herself to take one slow breath, exhaled, and then another. Then she unclenched one hand. “Simon?”

“I'm here, baby,” he said. “I'm gonna get you.”

“You promise?”

“I promise,” Simon called up, sounding absolutely sure of himself.

With a final deep breath, Maia shut her eyes and let go.

She was caught before she could think of screaming. Opening her eyes, she saw her boyfriend smiling down at her tenderly. “Told ya,” he murmured.

“Shut up,” she said, slapping his chest as he let her stand on her own feet.

Then Simon shooed her to stand with Isabelle and Clary, who both just hugged her without saying a word, while the vampire shouted for Jace to jump.

Jace crashed into Simon, who barely stumbled as he caught the blond shadowhunter. Simon grunted as he set Jace on his feet. “Dude, you need to lose a couple pounds.”

“Hey, it's all muscle, okay?”

“Felt more like a ton of fat,” Simon retorted, and got a light punch to his shoulder.

Maia exchanged a glance with Clary and they both rolled their eyes at their boyfriends' antics. The ledge led into a narrow hallway. The walls in this part appeared much older, the wall carvings eroded into blurred anonymity. The air was thick with the stench of death, and Maia had to force herself to keep from wolfing out. Clary and Izzy looked a bit green, but they kept on without complaint.

At the end of the hallway, Magnus was scanning a wall with magic, a shimmering blue cloud moving over the stylized carving of a lion's face. Slowly, a rune began to glow.

“That's the same rune from the factory!” Clary exclaimed. “That oracle-bone script. This means stop.”

“It's old magic,” Magnus muttered. “Too early before my time.”

“We broke through it the last time,” Jace said.

Magnus eyed him suspiciously. “How did you do it?”

“We hit the doors. Repeatedly.”

“Then you didn't break through it, the spell wore out. This is a fresh one, so it's going to take a lot more than brute force.” The warlock frowned, deep in thought, looking for a second so much like the usual Magnus that Maia was momentarily confused.

Magnus stepped back. “Nephilim. I'm going to need your angelic aura.”

“What are you going to do?” Isabelle asked sharply.

“This may be an ancient rune, but it is still a warlock spell. Angel powers should be able to burn through it.” He held out a hand to her. When she hesitated, he rolled his eyes dramatically and grabbed her hand. “Oh, in Father's name, will you please just – I want to get to Alexander as much as you do.”

Isabelle then reached her other hand to her brother, then Jace took Clary's hand. A chain of blue light twined around all them and circled their joined hands, before the light returned to Magnus.

Maia stepped back. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up when Magnus started chanting in Latin. Some words she could decipher because of the Latin used in her course of studies, but the warlock spoke the language like it was his mother tongue.

The rune on the wall began to glow red, then yellow; Maia had to shield her eyes when it became a burning white. With a piercing hum, the wall cracked, and then shattered.

Magnus let go of Isabelle's hand. He looked spooked, his brow furrowed and eyes wide. Maia could smell the fear emanating from him, and wondered if she should mention it, when Simon walked up to the warlock.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked in a low voice.

Magnus stared at him. Then he seemed to shake himself mentally. “Of course. I'm perfectly fine.”

Maia strode forward, already picking out Alec's scent. It was fresh, and there was a hint of blood – not so much as to cause worry – that made tracking him much easier. Her boyfriend fell into step beside her and they led the way.

“Did you smell him?” he asked, with a little jerk of his head over his shoulder.

Maia hummed. “I think whatever was affecting him might have been weakened by their angelic aura.”

Their voices were pitched low and soft enough that only they were able to hear each other. Perks of being a werewolf and a vampire. They both ducked and rolled at the same time when they heard a blade swing out from the wall at neck level. Then blades started slicing through the passageway, at different angles, each with a shrill metallic whirr.

“What is this, an Indiana Jones movie?” Simon grumbled aloud.

Behind them, the three shadowhunters were guarding Magnus, away from the first set of blades. The warlock was shaping a spell in his hands, but for some reason the magic kept sputtering out.

“Simon!” Jace shouted. “There might be something at the end of the passage to stop this. Think you can get there without being cut up?”

“Maybe?” There didn't seem to be a pattern to the blades' movements as they swung in and out of the walls, but he could do one step at a time. “But what if there's nothing there?”

Magnus shouldered Jace out of the way, balancing a delicate-looking enchantment made of a net of glittering silvery light in his hands. “Maia, Simon, stay close to the walls or the floor.”

The floor was out of the question. It was full of strange black patches, and sickly green slime crept around the edges of the stone tiles. The walls were mostly crumbling but were otherwise clean. Pressing herself against the wall, Maia held her breath and hoped whatever Magnus was going to do would help.

The warlock rolled the spell in his hands, and then tossed it forward. The spell shot through in a spear of light, and then widened into a tunnel made of strands of magic. The blades swung out and screeched metallically as they came into contact with the spell. The strands of the spell thickened and went taut as steel cables.

“What are you waiting for? Go!” Magnus snapped at them. Simon was the first to the end, courtesy of his vampiric speed, followed by Maia, and then the shadowhunters.

At the end of the tunnel was a glazed tile with a lion's face. Jace pressed it, and the blades all retracted. Then a wall slid aside, revealing another flight of steps, this one going up.

“I was right,” he said smugly.

Simon glared at him. “Yeah, well, I couldn't have made it through anyway.”

Magnus joined them soon after. To Maia, he smelled even more of fear, along with confusion and rage. She waited as the others headed through the doorway, then tapped him on the shoulder.

“What's wrong?”

“I'm fine.”

“You don't smell fine. You smell like you need help.”

Magnus scowled. “Stop smelling me.”

Maia raised an eyebrow. “I'm a werewolf. I smell everyone.”

***

Alec raised his head when he heard footsteps. More than one person's, he realized, after he scrambled into a corner, fell into a fighting stance and angled the saber in front of him, his heart hammering wildly. When he saw that it was Jace and Izzy who came around the corner, he was almost certain he was dreaming, until he saw Clary and Simon, then Maia, then-

“Magnus,” he breathed out.

He dropped his weapon.

Izzy got to him first, hugging him tightly, and he returned the embrace just as ferociously. Jace joined in, his strong arms almost hurting Alec, but it only affirmed that they were truly here. Izzy was crying.

“I was so afraid,” she repeated, “I thought I'd never see you again.”

“You fucking jerk, you scared all of us,” Jace said, his voice rough.

“So was I,” Alec confessed. He pressed a kiss to the crown of his sister's head, and buried his face against his parabatai's neck to hide his own tears.

Then he disentangled himself.

Simon waved. “Glad you're alive, man.” Maia and Clary only smiled, the latter looking a little teary herself. Alec ruffled Clary's hair as he passed, but he only had eyes for his beloved.

Magnus was utterly still, his eyes glimmering with emotion and lips parted. Only when Alec was standing right in front of him did he seem to draw breath.

“Alexander?” he whispered, like he couldn't believe who he was seeing.

Instead of replying with words, Alec just cupped Magnus' face in his hands and kissed him deeply, as if he had not kissed him for a thousand years. It felt like a thousand years since he had even seen Magnus, and he could feel himself about to break down. He was cold, his feet were encrusted with filth, and here was Magnus, Magnus was here, warm and alive and sweet and _here_ -

“Yes, I'm here, I'm here,” the warlock murmured against Alec's chapped lips. Alec realized he must have been voicing his thoughts aloud. “Gods, Alexander, I...” He suddenly flinched and clamped a hand to his head, shoving Alec away as he turned aside.

Alec was confused. “Magnus?”

“You tricked me,” Magnus hissed. “You – you said... Your people raised Raziel to _kill me_ , to kill my father-”

“Magnus, what are you talking about?”

The warlock swiveled about, glaring at him, his golden eyes on full display. A pendant Alec had never seen before glowed at Magnus' neck, pulsing faintly with red light, and even Magnus' skin seemed to be lit with gold and crimson. “You... I plucked you from the slaves, I adored you and pampered you, treated you with courtesy far above your station, I _loved_ you, and you betrayed me-”

“What are you talking about? Magnus, it's me, baby please, I'm your Alexander,” said the hapless young man. He caught the warlock by the arms and pulled him closer. “Magnus. Magnus, it's me. I love you. I'll never betray you. I love you. What do you mean, raising Raziel? Valentine did try that months ago but he was stopped, Clary killed him.”

“What? No, he was...” Magnus stared at him, and his cat's eyes skimmed over Alec's nearly naked body. “Wait, you're covered with seraphic runes... you're not wearing my mark... I'm not- I am the prince...”

“Magnus, you're scaring me, what are you talking about? What prince? What's wrong?”

Magnus shook his head again, breathing heavily, and the pendant stopped glowing. “I don't... I don't know. I don't know. I can't focus.”

“Alec,” said Izzy, “we really need to get out of here. Ask later. Clary, how's the portal coming along?”

“It won't form,” the redhead said, her teeth gritted. Apparently she had been trying to open one for the past few minutes while Alec and Magnus were otherwise occupied.

Magnus inhaled sharply. “Let me.” He waved his right hand in a circle, a familiar motion to summon a portal, but there was no swirl of magic. Frowning, he tried once more.

Still nothing.

“Portal wards. You're all stuck here. Forever.”

Alec's heart sank as soon as he heard that sultry voice, even though Daji was nowhere in sight. Instinctively, he reached for Magnus, and this time his boyfriend did not shun his touch. Instead, Magnus clung to him, wrapping his arms about the shadowhunter's waist and burying a sob in Alec's neck.

Not too soon either, apparently, because a portal opened suddenly beneath Alec and Magnus and they dropped into darkness.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tags are updated. coming chapters will go into dark places. please be forewarned.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's a talky chapter because there has been a lot of actiony scenes.
> 
> please read trigger warnings with the END NOTES.

Alec and Magnus tumbled through the portal, with the shadowhunter landing first on hard ground, and the warlock falling onto him.

“Ow,” Alec groaned. His spine was not broken, since he could feel every bit of pain in his hips and legs, and the fall had jarred all the bruises that hadn't fully healed over the past few hours, despite the _iratze_ runes. He could feel the burns the most; the runes he was most familiar with focused on mending bones and knitting muscles together, but where he had been burned, the skin was new and tender, with the flesh beneath still damaged.

Grunting, Magnus propped himself up and brushed a few errant strands of hair from his face. Then he scrambled to sit back on his heels. “Alec, my angel, you alright?”

“Wish I could say yes,” said Alec, with a very small smile. He let his head flop onto the hard floor. “It's been the _worst day ever_.”

“I'm sorry I couldn't get to you earlier,” Magnus mumbled.

He sounded so apologetic that the young shadowhunter just sat up and kissed him again, soft and forgiving. “Magnus, it's alright. Come on, we need to get out of here.”

After Alec helped his boyfriend to his feet, they both examined their surroundings. These walls were smooth, new rock, and the door was solid steel, with a grille set at Magnus' eye level. There was a lamp in the ceiling, its light dim and flickering. Magnus touched the door and yelped.

“What's wrong?” Alec asked, instantly alert.

Magnus cradled his left hand to his chest. “The door's warded,” he said. They examined his fingers. The tips were blistered and, when Magnus tried a healing charm, he hissed with pain. The blisters darkened and burst.

Taking his boyfriend's hand, Alec blew lightly on the hurt fingertips, and then kissed Magnus' knuckles. Then the shadowhunter reached a hand to the door cautiously. He jerked his hand back the second he touched it, his skin almost burnt in the same way. “That goddamn bitch. I swear, if it were up to me, I'd have her barbecued. Show her how it feels.”

His boyfriend managed a hiccup of a laugh. “Let's put some clothes on you first, you must be freezing.”

“A hot bath,” Alec said, dreamily. “God, Magnus, I'm going to soak in your tub for _hours._ I'm going to become a human prune.”

“I should've cleaned you up just now,” Magnus muttered. “Sorry.” He waved his hand in a familiar swirl, but the magic sputtered out again. Cursing, Magnus punched the wall and flinched again, his knuckles reddened and similarly blistered. “Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. The _cell_ is warded. Why didn't I do this earlier?”

“We were understandably overwhelmed,” Alec said. He drew Magnus into an embrace. “It's alright, baby, we're together, it's all good.”

A shadow fell over the grille at the door. Daji peered in, her disdainful amusement evident in the slight curve of her eyes. Alec immediately stood in front of Magnus, shielding the warlock with his body. Magnus placed a hand on Alec's waist, shifting him aside slightly, not willing to hide from their captor.

“Welcome,” Daji said with a sweet smile. “I must say, Mr Lightwood, you surprised me, killing Yuqing with such ease. Perhaps I shouldn't have let Di An slip those shadowhunters into my palace.”

“Speaking as your guest, your hospitality sucks,” Alec retorted flatly.

“Hmm. How can I make it up to you two?”

Alec could _hear_ the faux-smile on Magnus' face as the warlock drawled, “You could die.”

“Not before you, Mr Bane,” said Daji, her eyes curving in amusement. “Tell you what. There's still plenty of time, so why don't you two catch up?” She stepped away from the door. Then she raised her voice. “I'll dally with your friends first, how about that?”

“ _You stay away from my sister!_ ” Alec yelled, rushing forward, almost colliding with the warded door if not for Magnus hugging him tightly around his belly.

Daji's laughter was abruptly cut off.

Alec swore. Magnus held on.

***

Jace was crouched over the spot where his parabatai and Magnus were taken from them. “Not fucking again! Fuck!”

Izzy was standing next to Jace, her slender hand on his shoulder but she was more shell-shocked than anything. After another few rounds of cursing, Jace stood up and hugged her around the shoulders. That seemed to steady Isabelle and the blond shadowhunter stopped his angry pacing.

A few steps away from the siblings, Clary looked pinched and upset, but her eyes were clear as she tried again to call up a portal. The portal kept shattering, and broken portal shards littered the blood-encrusted floor. None of them wanted to look up, where wire cages held bodies in varying stages of decay, all the remains looking far too small to be adults.

Maia shifted from foot to foot, her eyes darting around and taking in the layers of filth caking the floor. “We should get out of here. It's too dangerous.”

“We're not leaving until we save Magnus and Alec,” Izzy snapped.

“And how do you plan to save them?” Maia replied, stepping into Isabelle's space. “We have no warlock. Your runes don't work. There's not even a scent trace for Simon or me to follow. We don't know how to take her down. What are you planning to do, wait here till she shows up?”

“Listen, _werewolf_ , if you want to run with your tail between your legs, then leave.” Izzy moved forward so she was nose to nose with Maia. “Jace and me, we're staying until we get my brother and Magnus out of here.”

“Don't you take that tone with me-”

“What are you here for if you're not here to help-”

“Hey! Enough!” Simon inserted himself between the two young women and pushed them apart by their shoulders, until Jace took Isabelle's bicep and Clary tugged Maia back another step. The mild-mannered vampire glared at both of them. “Alright, let's calm down and think, okay? We're all here to help Magnus retrieve Alec. Now Magnus is with Alec, but we have lost them both. We have no way out of here without a portal. We have no warlock to make a portal, but Clary says she can make portals.”

The redhead nodded. “Yeah, but Daji said there are portal wards.”

“So,” Simon said, gesturing as if in a lecture, “we find and destroy the portal wards, and then we can think of the next step. Now can we calm the hell down?”

The tension in Maia's frame relaxed and she lowered her defiant chin. “Sorry, Isabelle.”

“Me too,” said Izzy quietly. “I just – just lost my cool for a bit.”

Maia smiled. “Understandable.” Then she whipped around, growling, her eyes scanning the raised platform, her nostrils flaring. “I smell you, _bitch_. Show yourself.”

Simon corralled the shadowhunters behind him, evidently scenting the intruder himself. Izzy uncoiled her whip, while Clary and Jace drew their seraph blades.

The air shimmered and then a slim woman in snowy white materialized. She was draped in luxuriant furs, and she wore a sincere smile on her perfectly made-up face. “Hello.”

“Su Daji,” Izzy hissed, recalling the warlock's name.

“You resemble your brother,” Daji cooed in accented English. Then her smile turned vulpine and predatory. “I'm going to make him kill you.”

Izzy snarled; Simon made sure to keep in front of her lest she charged the warlock.

Daji then turned to regard Maia, who had already wolfed out in response to her appearance. The female warlock was amused. “A werewolf? Something between a human and a wolf is a dog, and I know how to deal with dogs.” She waved a hand and metal chains snapped around the young werewolf's neck and wrists, yanking her to the ground. “凭你这只哈巴狗，也想咬月亮么？要碰我苏妲己，你还不够格！”

Once caught, Maia howled, a truly spine-tingling sound of despair. She thrashed about, trying to break free, but she wasn't able to escape.

Simon tried to get to his girlfriend but Daji waved her hands again, a pulse of magic forcing them to stagger backwards. The bones from the remains overhead rained down on them. Then the warlock closed her hands into fists. The bones rose up on a gray cloud and closed around each of them in grotesque bone cages, while Maia struggled in vain against the magical chains.

Daji sauntered over to the trapped young people. There was no warmth in her gaze at all as she scrutinized each of them. “You are exceedingly fortunate that right now, I cannot kill any of you. But after the eclipse?” She bared her teeth. “You should start drawing lots.”

As she walked away from them, she snapped her fingers and flicked a bolt of energy at the thrashing, whimpering werewolf. A muzzle clapped over Maria's snout and the chains thickened.

“I've always wanted a guard dog,” Daji drawled. “I wonder how hungry you have to become before you eat your friends.”

Maia growled at her through the muzzle.

Daji just laughed, a clear, sweet sound that chilled the air with its vibrance.

***

Magnus tried to break through the wards again, but his magic either sputtered out or rebounded on him. He would have better luck focusing if there wasn't another voice in his head, snide and arrogant, commenting on Magnus' reluctance to unleash his full fury while snarling imprecations at Alec behind him.

The young man, on his part, was seated out of the way, ducking smartly when bits of backfired magical curses rocket in his direction. His gaze was set on an imaginary horizon, his jaw taut with compressed worry.

Finally, Magnus gave up and sat down in the middle of the cell. It itched under his skin, and the pendant sitting in the hollow of his neck grew irritatingly hot. He tugged at it and hissed when his fingertips stung. He'd forgotten about his blisters.

At least his hiss of pain distracted Alec from his angry brooding. “Magnus?”

The _other_ person in his head growled. Magnus' palms itched to send a bolt of magic at him. “Don't come near me yet,” he gritted out, the words tasting like ash on his tongue. It took him a few deep breaths before he could even look at his lover. “Yeah. I'm okay now.”

“Don't coddle me, Magnus.” Alec unfolded, looking grim around his mouth, but his gaze was still tender and concerned. “Even earlier, you were behaving as if you were someone else. What's wrong?”

 _You aren't my Alexander._ The thought snarled within the warlock and he bit down on the words. After yet another deep breath, Magnus reached out for the shadowhunter and grasped his hand, drawing emotional strength from the contact.

“This is going to be a difficult conversation, Alec.” The warlock exhaled. “Not sure it's the right time for it.”

“Give me the abridged version then.”

Alec was always the sort to make life hard for himself by choosing the painful option. Someday, _someday_ Magnus would teach him the benefit of taking it easy. Now, however, Magnus decided to follow his boyfriend's lead.

“There is a separate persona in my head right now,” he said. “It is... an aspect of me that I thought had been buried, centuries ago, but it has resurfaced, thanks to-” He had to stop abruptly, because suddenly everything that had happened to him _made sense._ “That goddamn _motherfucker._ ”

He had to laugh internally at the accuracy of that curse.

Alec, poor darling, looked very confused. “Who?”

“Asmodeus,” Magnus snarled. His mind raced. “He knew – he knew about Daji's ploy. He had to have. Daji didn't just pop up, she had to have sniffed around to know about me, about us. All this would have tipped Asmodeus off.”

“Magnus, you've been estranged from your father since you banished him to Edom.”

“You don't know him, Alec! Asmodeus – he'd have kept tabs on me. Made sure he was up to date on what I'm doing. This whole Daji shitshow – this was his opening, he might even have helped her think of abducting you, because that's the easiest way to drive me to panic, and when I panic I make stupid decisions-” Magnus blanched. His breath fled his body and he sagged; Alec caught him up in an embrace and pulled him to sit on the cold stone floor. “Alexander, promise me.”

The shadowhunter pressed a kiss to Magnus' cheek. “Anything.”

“I am going to give you one of my most cherished memories,” Magnus murmured. “Keep it safe. One month later, return it to me. Find a way, a way that won't endanger you, to return that memory to me. Promise me you'll do this.”

“Of course,” said Alec, “but why?”

“Because when this is over, when you are safely back home, I will be spending a month with Asmodeus.”

“What?”

“I'll explain, but let me give you the memory first.” Magnus pulled off one of his silver rings. This one was a lovely amber, with a tiny fern caught inside the stone. With his left hand, Magnus wove a spell, all while muttering an incantation under his breath. Then he tapped the side of his head and gently pulled away. A bluish-pinkish glow followed his hand, which he then sent into the amber. The warlock handed the ring to Alec. “Keep it safe.”

Alec put the ring on the ring finger of his left hand. It felt odd to wear it, but also comforting, like having a bit of Magnus on him. It was technically true, anyway, if the warlock had indeed put a bit of his memory inside the stone. But Alec hadn't forgotten what they had been talking about. “You said that there's a separate persona in your head.”

Magnus swallowed convulsively. His hands clenched. “Yes. It's me.”

“You're not making sense.”

“Alexander, remember when I said I spent years with my father?” Magnus shifted so he could look Alec in the eye. “I really spent a few decades with him.”

“You were learning how to be a warlock,” Alec said. “And to build your contacts, I assume.”

The warlock in question lowered his gaze, as if ashamed. “It was... more complicated than that.”

Alec slid his hands around Magnus' waist and waited.

“I was thrilled at first. Someone who looked like me and cared for me, you know? And... and for many years, he was the only person I loved and trusted, and he... He loved me. He'll say that he still loves me. He cultivated my dependency on him. Asmodeus is a demon; the way he loves is...”

“Demonic?”

“Possessive,” Magnus corrected. “He loved me, possessively. At first – at first I was just his son, you know? His very own Prince of Cats, finally by his side, in his court, learning the ways of being a warlock. Being the son of the King of Edom, the heir of a Prince of Hell. And then... then I grew up. Matured.”

Alec rubbed circles into his boyfriend's waist with thumbs. Magnus was tense, from the set of his jaw all the way down his spine.

The warlock exhaled again, and when he next spoke, his voice was smaller. “I grew up. A young man, and, well, look at me. I'm attractive. Asmodeus decided then that... that I was everything to him. Because he loved me. And because I loved him, I thought he was right. And for some years, he... Asmodeus was everything to me.”

“I... I don't understand,” said Alec. The young man frowned at Magnus. “What do you mean, he was everything to you?”

“I mean that he wasn't just my father, Alexander,” Magnus whispered in anguish. “I mean, that on top of being my demonic sire and my mentor and teacher... Asmodeus and I – we...” He took a deep, shuddering breath and shut his eyes. “Don't make me say it. Please.”

Alec was deeply perplexed. “Magnus, what did he do to you? Did he hurt you? Because you know that I will never hold his abuse against you-”

“We were lovers.”

A chill exploded from inside Alec's gut. His hands and legs went numb, and his mind turned to static.

Magnus didn't open his eyes. “He was... everything to me, for those years. I was... I was the most spoiled, pampered, selfish, cruel being that existed on the planet at that time. I... I let him have what he wanted from me because – because it pleased him, and I wanted to please him so much. I didn't know it was wrong. And he certainly wasn't going to tell me.”

He took a deep breath again, and his fingers flexed where they grasped Alec's arms. There were no tears, but he could feel them threatening; his voice was rough, like he'd been screaming. He felt like screaming. All the things he'd done with his father, the things he'd done  _for_ his father, along with all the things Asmodeus did to him when they'd coupled. The first two decades away from Asmodeus had been impossible to relive, because Magnus had been so torn between what he'd learned was wrong and what he'd thought he wanted to have.

Someone had helped him move on, helped him learn to see that Magnus hadn't been at fault. If only Magnus could remember who that was.

“That part of me – the selfish, cruel bully, the Prince of Cats who had always got what he wanted, who didn't know right from wrong, who wanted his father's affection and praise more than anything – I thought I'd grown out of it. I thought... I thought I'd become a better person. But that Prince is still there, in me. And worse – he's here, in my head, and it's very confusing.”

“But that's you, from ages ago,” Alec managed to say. He didn't know where the words came from. “And how is Asmodeus responsible for all this?”

Opening his eyes, Magnus smiled at Alec. The smile was very shaky and tentative. “Don't yell at me. I'm feeling fragile.”

The shadowhunter narrowed his eyes. “What did you do?”

Magnus cleared his throat unnecessarily. “When you were taken, there was no ransom. We found a clue in the runes they used, but we didn't have a name or even the idea of a name, so I summoned Amon-”

“-Amon, the Marquis of Hell? For real?”

“Please don't yell at me.”

“Okay. Sorry. Alright. Go on.”

“I summoned Amon, but to hold him I had to use some of my own blood and also trade him a name of a friend, and Amon took the name and also the memories associated with that name. All I can remember is that it was a friend's. The summoning with the blood alerted Asmodeus, who, um. Met me in my dreams. And he offered to help me, but I distrusted him – which he knew – and I made a deal with him instead.”

Alec held up a finger. “Hang on. How long had I been gone before you summoned Amon?”

“...a few hours?”

“More or less than five?”

“...less than.”

The shadowhunter looked like he regretted not being able to yell. He shook his head, conveying disappointment in every muscle. “Magnus.”

“I was scared,” Magnus pointed out.

Alec leaned his head against the warlock's shoulder. “It scares me, how much value you place on me,” he said quietly. “You can't risk so much for me, Magnus. You mustn't.”

“I love you,” the warlock said. It explained everything.

The young man seemed to shake himself, before he sat up straight and motioned for Magnus to continue.

“Well, I think Amon taking the memories created some mental gaps in my head. Lowered my defenses. The prince part of me, the cruel and vicious bully, he showed up earlier. Probably because I had just spent some time with Asmodeus and used his power for astral projection. He always brings out the worst in me. Also, just now, there was one level with enchanted mirrors, where I was taken by a Muse very briefly.”

“I thought muses were demigods.”

“This one had been caught by Daji, I think, and Asmodeus had already made a bargain with it. In exchange for freedom, it had to show me my life if I hadn't banished my father. Perhaps that is meant to persuade me to choose that other life. I don't know. Unfortunately, the existing gaps in my memories have been filled by the other Magnus' memories and feelings. I remember being charmed by you, the other you, and then becoming obsessed about making you happy, and an overwhelming betrayal... When I'm with you, it's manageable. I can't hear that voice as loudly, and I can sort of tune it out, discern what is real and what isn't.”

Alec nodded firmly. “Good. I can help you silence that other Magnus.”

“But here's the problem,” Magnus said. He bit his lip and touched the pendant at his throat. “I'm going to be with Asmodeus for a month. And the other Magnus – the prince never stopped his relationship with Asmodeus. I think my father wants the prince to take over as the dominant personality. Alexander, I-I don't want that.” His voice broke. “I don't want to go back to that. I'd rather die than... Alexander, I can't do that again-”

Alec hugged him. He was the victim here, having been captured and tortured, and yet he was comforting his immortal boyfriend. “You won't have to.”

Magnus' throat closed up with emotion. His arms went around Alec and he hugged his boyfriend back, his tears wetting Alec's skin. “I'll worry about that when we get through tonight.”

Chuckling, Alec murmured, “Good plan.”

Trying to fight his tears, Magnus burrowed into the young man's neck and tried to focus only on the here and now. He was _terrified_.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning: reference to incestuous relationship between Magnus and Asmodeus.
> 
> 凭你这只哈巴狗，也想咬月亮么？要碰我苏妲己，你还不够格！ - "Did you little lapdog (fig. meaning - lackey) really think you can bite the moon? You aren't worthy of touching me Su Daji!"


	20. Chapter 20

The altar was almost ready. The hearts of ninety-nine children were arrayed in the correct pattern. Daji could feel the energies building within the octogram drawn in the center and shivered. If only she could kill all the extraneous people and set Magnus Bane here until the auspicious hour, when the _yin_ aura of the world was the most powerful, but the ritual forbade her from taking lives for eighty-one days. She had had to delegate all the killings to Yuqing and Xi Mei, and satisfied herself with mere torture.

 _Three thousand years._ She had waited for so long.

The insides of her bones still hurt, as if molten metal had been poured into her bones. It had been sheer fortune that the modern housing boom had dislodged five of the forty-nine talismans that had once trapped them in stasis deep underground. And now, in this era, no one knew how to summon the goddess who had put Yuqing, Xi Mei, and Daji down, back in the Shang dynasty. When Daji first clawed out of the trap that had entombed her, she had stared around at the world that passed her by with utter confusion and an overwhelming sense of loss.

Nothing made sense. Gods and demons were no longer respected; magic was treated as another superstition. She had to relearn how to use her beauty for her benefit.

At least this time around, there wasn't a foolish pervert of a king to deal with. For ten years, she and her sisters learned as much as they could, learning about a world that had become much larger than they had ever imagined, and how cynical it had become.

Now she was alone.

Part of her missed Yuqing and Xi Mei. They had allied themselves against the world in the ancient past, when women were property and pawns for negotiation. When their only currency was their looks. They had all been used, and their rage at the unfairness of their lives had bound them together. Daji didn't trust in sentiment, but she had trusted in her fellow warlocks a little.

Yuqing had been abandoned as a child to the elements; if she had not had flesh that could turn to jade, she would have died. Xi Mei learned to converse with birds and lived in a cave, hiding her feathers under the loose robes of a priestess, until she learned to glamour herself.

Daji's father had used her as a pawn to win esteem for the Su household; her mother had only been too pleased to send her away to the king. Over and over again they had told her that she was lucky she hadn't been drowned as a baby, because her tails had frightened her human parents.

She had personally seen to the executions of the entire family after she seduced and entranced that fool of a King Zhou. Her parents had begged for mercy, to no avail. Perhaps if they had been more loving.

Yuqing and Xi Mei had come to her before she had entered the palace, and they had made plans. It might have taken three thousand years to get here, but at last, at long last, the stars had aligned.

They accused her of leading the king astray, of destroying the kingdom.

They called her a vicious demon without morals.

Daji smiled. All of them were already dust.

She was still here.

She was going to become a goddess.

***

The instant Simon saw that Maia was unable to transform back, he was determined to drain the blood of Daji. He had never tasted the blood of a warlock but he was definitely going to do so today. His emotions rocketed past anger and settled into tranquil fury.

Waiting until that woman had gloated and left was one of the hardest things Simon had ever done in his life and unlife. The second she was gone, the vampire grabbed hold of the bars of his bone cage. Probably two femurs.

Mere contact with the bones made burning heat sear into his palms. Simon shut away the pain, gritting his teeth, and with a grunt, shattered the bones. With his elbows, he broke more of the bones and clambered through.

In the other cages, Isabelle was using her whip, wrapping the more flexible end around two of the thinnest bones, and twisting the weapon to crack the bars. Jace was trying to use his seraph blade to cut through the joins of the cage, and Clary was mimicking him.

Simon ignored them, rushing to his girlfriend. Maia whined when he approached. To his horror, he could see that where her neck met the metal collar was bare skin, and it was pink and raw.

Simon gripped the straps of the muzzle and tore it apart. Agony stabbed into his palms, probably from the enchanted cage earlier. He ignored the pain and dug his fingers under the collar. Maia yelped and tried to twist away.

“Baby, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry,” Simon said. “I have to. Bear with me, please. Please.”

The werewolf made a low, keening whimper, and then shut her eyes. Simon curled his fingers under the collar and used all of his vampiric strength to pry it apart. It didn't give an inch.

Clary and Jace ran over and started scribing runes on the chains that held Maia to the ground. Izzy pulled Simon away by his shoulder before bending down to draw runes on the unforgiving collar. The runes glowed and the chain dissolved. Maia whined again before she shuddered and transformed back into her human form. The skin on her neck, wrists, and ankles were pink and raw.

Simon cradled her to his chest, trying to soothe her while the shadowhunters sought out her clothes. Rage bloomed dark and hungry through Simon's veins.

Forget dismantling the portal wards. Forget portaling back home.

“Clary?”

“Yeah?”

“Take care of Maia for a bit.” Simon stood and rolled his shoulders. The burns in his hands itched. “I'm looking for the way down.”

His best friend supported Maia against her, looking far too petite and small. “Simon, be careful.”

Simon didn't reply. He was going to tear a warlock to pieces with his bare hands.

***

It helped, somewhat, to have Alec close while Magnus tried to sort out which memories were his own and which belonged to the Prince. Naming the other Magnus the Prince made it easier to distance himself from the things he was reviewing in his head.

His skin was crawling as he filed away memories of the Prince's interactions with Asmodeus. It wasn't so much the activities, most of which were fairly tame in Magnus' experience, but the emotions the Prince attached to those activities churned the warlock's stomach.

The Prince might have been obsessed with his own Alexander, but he was utterly devoted to Asmodeus. He had even conquered the _world_ for his father, leading armies of demons and Downworlders against humanity. Was that what Asmodeus wanted?

Alec sat between Magnus and the door, with Magnus' jacket draped over the shadowhunter's broad shoulders like a capelet. The warlock's ring looked strange on Alec's finger; the young man was not given to accessorize.

 _Some day, perhaps, if Alexander doesn't grow sick of me_ , Magnus thought, and batted away the burst of anger from the Prince. He wasn't sure if the other persona was a separate entity or just the remnant traces of a very vivid dream.

“Magnus,” Alec said suddenly, “if you can save me without Asmodeus' help, then you won't have to spend a month with him.”

Magnus blinked at his boyfriend. Then a delighted grin spread on his face. “I didn't think about that.”

The two clasped hands and Magnus squeezed Alec's fingers. Without the other two warlocks helping Daji, Magnus might just have a chance of foiling her plans. Whatever ritual she was conducting, it was likely to be very reliant on the fluxes of magical energy, and thus very time-sensitive. Otherwise she wouldn't fret about the eclipse. A plan started taking shape in his head and he shuffled close to Alec. Tugging the shadowhunter close, Magnus pressed his mouth to Alec's cheek in a kiss.

“If I can somehow conjure a portal for you to escape, you run,” he murmured soundlessly against Alec's ear. “I will fight her and I will win. But I can't do it while worrying about you.”

Alec tensed in Magnus' arms.

The warlock tightened his embrace. “Alexander.”

After a deep breath, Alec nodded minutely.

“Good.”

***

Maia was wearing Jace's shirt because her own had been ripped to shreds to bandage the raw skin on her neck, wrists and joints; the metal of the collar was silver, and the inside of it bore unfamiliar runes or perhaps writing. Maia didn't care what it said. It had burned like acid wherever it touched her, and just thinking of wolfing out made her feel queasy.

Since Jace was the strongest shadowhunter of the group, they nominated him to stay and guard Maia. Clary and Isabelle went to look for the portal wards, while Simon had disappeared in a blur of speed, presumably to locate the way down to the next level. Jace had his seraph blade out, his eyes scanning the area around them.

“I'm sorry I wasn't much help,” Maia said. Her voice was hoarse and her throat felt like sandpaper.

The blond didn't even glance over. “The fuck you talking about?”

“I don't seem to have done anything useful today.”

“Maia, you've already hunted down demons, protected warlocks while they sealed the breaches, led us through the mazes upstairs and torn apart a pack of hellhounds.” Jace now regarded her coolly. “You were ready to attack a psycho warlock to protect us after talking about how it was impossible to win against a warlock. Don't beat yourself up over not doing everything, okay? I get enough of that crap from Alec.”

At that, Maia had to smile. Jace could be vain and cocky, but he was also quite charming in his own abrasive way.

Jace blew out a breath. “This place gives me the creeps. Where the hell are Izzy and Clary?”

Now that she felt somewhat better, Maia was about to volunteer tracking the two young women when the floor began to shudder. Some of the cages overhead crashed to the floor, and decaying remains scattered wildly about. Jace helped her to her feet and kept a hand on her elbow, his other arm with the blade angled over both their heads to block the wire cages falling onto them.

“Jace! Maia! This way!” Izzy shouted from the end of a corridor to their left. Clary was beside Izzy, looking paler than usual. The corridor resembled the one they had emerged from earlier and nothing seemed to be falling down in it.

“Where's Simon?” Maia shouted.

Izzy shook her head. “No idea, but we have to find some – watch out!”

A huge block of stone smashed down just next to Jace. He cursed fluidly and swept Maia up in his arms to carry her all the way to where Izzy and Clary were taking shelter. Once there, he set her on her feet.

“You're not wearing shoes,” he said when she stared at him in bewilderment.

Clary hugged Jace and turned to Maia. “We found a way down. Maybe Simon did too.”

“I did. It's not a way down any more.”

Jace and Izzy both yelped out loud and jumped about two feet in the air.

“Holy shi- What the _fuck_ , Simon, can you not?” Jace complained. “What the hell? You scared the crap outta me, dude.”

Izzy smacked the vampire on his arm. “That was not necessary!”

After a brief nod of apology to the two shadowhunters, Simon embraced Maia and kissed her cheek. “You okay?”

“I'm alright.”

Clary patted Jace on his back soothingly. “What do you mean, it's not a way down anymore?”

“I mean,” said Simon, “that _that_ stairway over there leads to nothing but a dead drop. Nothing beneath. And in the center of this godforsaken labyrinth is a new stone tower spiraling up like a unicorn horn of doom. As far as I could see, there is no way into the tower.”

The others glanced at one another. “So you're saying that Alec and Magnus are probably inside that tower with that goddamn bitch?”

“Yes, Jace, I am saying that.”

“Well, if we can't get inside the tower,” said Maia, “we should work on locating and disabling the portal wards in this place, get back home to get magical backup, and come back to wherever this place is to help Magnus.”

“Do we have the time?” Izzy asked. “If Daji is already raising this... tower, she probably is going to start her ritual.”

“If there are portal wards then Magnus and Alec are trapped as well, even if they can get out of the tower. Even if there isn't time to get backup, we have to give them the possibility of escape,” Jace said. “Izzy, you, Maia, and Simon, you guys go right. Clary, we'll head left. We'll meet somewhere on the other side.”

***

Alec tucked Magnus into his arms and under his chin, shielding the warlock with his entire body as the structure shook and trembled. It felt like they were rising upwards, as if in an elevator made of rock.

Magnus clung to Alec's forearm, even though he wasn't afraid of their moving cell. It reminded him a little of the first time he took an elevator in 1854. That one had been a rather claustrophobic experience, and the metallic cranking of the gears and wheels had scared him then. He was concerned, however, that the ritual was about to start.

“Magnus, do you know Chinese?” Alec asked suddenly. “Because the warlocks, they were talking in front of me earlier but I didn't understand a word they said. If you do, you can read my memory and-”

Already knowing what Alec was getting at, Magnus readied the conjuration in his right hand. “Think about their conversations.” With a small smile, he teased, “I'll be gentle.”

The shadowhunter concentrated. Magnus cast the spell, and, as promised, was very careful as he tenderly pulled tendrils of memories from Alec. While balancing those thoughts in his right hand, Magnus called up a different spell in his left that fed Alec's memories into his own mind. Rapidly scanning through the impressions, Magnus suddenly paused. His own grasp of Chinese was sketchy, having not used the language for over a century and a half, but he could still understand about three-quarters of any Chinese conversation at any time.

“喜媚，你去五楼的迎客亭预备。玉磬，七楼就由你把关。姐姐我得去摆百心坛。”That was Daji. Magnus had already slain Xi Mei – melding her with the stone wall had given him a dark satisfaction – while Yuqing had been killed by Alec. The part that interested Magnus had been what Daji said she was going to do.

Alec brushed bits of stone from Magnus' hair. “Anything?”

“She's set up an altar,” said Magnus slowly. “Altar of... altar of a hundred hearts? I've read about something like that before, though for the life of me I can't remember the exact context or purpose of this ritual.”

“A hundred hearts? She's killed ninety-nine others?”

Magnus was grim. “Guess I'll have to be the hundredth. Lunar eclipses, lunar eclipses... Oh. Oh _shit._ ”

Alec was instantly alert and tense. “What?”

“She's already gathered the hearts of ninety-nine virgins. If she eats the heart of a person of power – any of us, essentially – she will gain their power hundredfold.”

“You're the High Warlock of Brooklyn,” Alec pointed out.

“Was.”

“Still are in all the ways that matter, because that Lorenzo is a pompous piece of shit with barely enough magic to power a portal,” said Alec loyally. He blew out a breath. “Do you remember anything else about that ritual though?”

Magnus squeezed his eyes shut. He had a great memory, but centuries of recollections did clutter up his mind. Then something piqued his interest – the prince had perked up at the mention of the ritual.

 _What do you know, Prince of Cats?_ Magnus gently prodded the prince for some details, and was rewarded with an inundation of images.

He wasn't even aware that he had blacked out until he heard Alec's voice calling out his name repeatedly and felt his boyfriend shaking him. Magnus blinked rapidly, trying to clear away the afterimages of the prince's revelation and for his vision to stop spinning.

“Magnus, thank the Angel,” Alec whispered. He kissed Magnus on the forehead. “You have to stop scaring me!”

“S'rry,” said Magnus. His throat felt thick and his breath tasted sour. A glance to the side told him what he suspected – he'd thrown up. “I, uh... I know how to stop the ritual.”

Alec's frown disappeared. “Really?”

“Yeah,” the warlock said. “Turns out, the other me has done it before. Killed a hundred people to strengthen myself.”

With a sigh, Alec hugged Magnus close. His voice was a rumble when he said, “That wasn't you.”

Magnus breathed his boyfriend's scent in. It wasn't him, he knew, but he could feel the blood on his hands regardless.

_And if I can't kill her myself, I'll have to let him do it._

 


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes! you get TWO chapters this week and an epilogue! The next fic needs to be planned out and it will be Magnus-Asmodeus centric.

Alec stretched out his sore muscles. He was pretty much fully functional now, save for the gnawing hunger in his stomach. Whatever Daji had planned was about to take place, and the young man narrowed his focus down to getting Magnus out of harm's way.

He knew Magnus would find a way to create a portal for Alec to escape, and Alec had agreed to flee if he had the chance, but the warlock had forgotten one important thing: Daji wanted Magnus' power. She engineered the entire plan to get Magnus.

Alec would escape, but only with Magnus in his arms. Once the auspicious time for the ritual had passed, they would confront Daji again.

At least the air now smelled fresh. They were very likely out of the ground, though what that meant for the others he did not dare to speculate. He wondered if any Chinese media had noticed some new structure poking out of the ground where it hadn't been a few minutes prior.

Magnus was trying out his magic again. Sparks flickered and fizzled out from his blistered fingers, and he was glowing with a strange copper-gold light that ebbed and pulsed erratically. He kept muttering – some Latin, which Alec was fluent in, and some other languages that he somewhat recognized – and as the warlock continued working through his entire lexicon, the colors of the sparks changed with nearly every word.

“Well, if my magic doesn't return completely, I can try putting on a fireworks display,” Magnus finally said, looking fed up.

Alec frowned. “Is that pendant supposed to glow like that, Magnus?”

Magnus glanced down as best as he could. “I don't know.” He scowled and bit his lower lip. “Asmodeus put it on me. I don't know what it's for.”

“If and when I meet your father, I may have some words for him,” Alec said quietly as he came up to his boyfriend and wrapped his long arms about the warlock's waist. “I know he's a demon-”

“A prince of Hell and the King of Edom, really.”

“-but he should still have been a better father to you.”

Magnus exhaled a laugh. It was a hollow sound. “The trouble is, he thought he was being a great father.”

Alec hugged Magnus more tightly. “You are a thousand times the father he is.”

“I'm not a father,” Magnus protested.

“The way you take care of Madzie? Of the other warlock children? Of the Downworlders you took care of and raised?” Alec smiled and kissed Magnus on the lips fondly. “You're a good dad.”

Magnus looked dubious but a tiny smile hovered on his lips. “If you say so, Alexander.”

The shadowhunter was about to add something else when the floor beneath them shimmered and then, in a blink, they were in a different room. This one was circular, open to the heavens, and the walls were pure white stone. On the floor was an octagon, and dozens and dozens of little hearts the size of ripe plums were arrayed around them in a complicated design.

To Alec's horror, the hearts were _beating_.

“Welcome to my altar.” Daji stepped out of the shadows, now free of makeup and looking impossibly flawless. She was clad in a plain white linen robe that was belted about the waist with a black sash, embroidered with silver. She flexed and flicked her slender fingers at the two lovers. Silver light snapped out and caught each of them by their wrists and ankles, before they were dragged apart – Alec pinned spreadeagle to the wall and Magnus to his knees, his hands behind him. Daji closed her hand in a fist. A gag snapped over both their mouths.

Alec tried to rub the knot behind his head loose and Daji tutted at him.

“That's not going to do any good, dear boy.” She regarded him with cool assessment. “Perhaps I will keep you around for a while... I could use a consort.”

If looks could kill, Daji would be ashes. Alec glared poison-tipped flaming arrows at her, but she only chuckled and even patted his cheek.

“I would be able to use your body any way I want,” she cooed. “And you won't be able to do anything about it. You'll be in your head, watching, as I make you kill your family, and your friends, and I will make you _smile_ as they take their final breath in your arms. Xi Mei told me that you and Magnus are lovers, and that he is your first and only.” Her tone turned dark and vindictive. “Imagine: I will make you call out my name as I ride you. I will make you beg to eat me out. I will put you on display before the world as I humiliate you, as I will humiliate every single human being.”

***

The first portal ward was hard to locate, until Izzy activated the rune that allowed her to see spell work. Then she saw the shimmery electric-blue lines that flowed out of a single carved tile in the wall. Simon, with his super strength, could rip the tile out with his bare hands. Unfortunately, once the ward was destroyed, a dozen Ravener demons popped out.

Maia had opted to transform into her wolf form again, even though she admitted that it was hard to think when not in human shape, and her teeth and claws tore through the hard carapaces of the demons like hot knives through butter. Izzy used her whip to catch and drag the skittering demons close for Simon to kill, while dancing and twisting out of reach before she could be stung by any of them. This would be a bad time to be poisoned.

They got this down to a science by the time they found the third ward. Izzy flung demons towards Simon who put the bloodthirsty monster in him to work, while Maia killed those who closed in on them.

Izzy tried the sunlight rune a few times, but either she got part of the runework wrong or something was inhibiting her. She hoped Clary wasn't having the same type of trouble.

***

Clary wished Jace would just trust in her abilities a little more. In the end, she had to forcibly elbow him to the side before she could direct a blast of sunlight on the hideous creatures, which crisped int ashes in the light.

Her boyfriend took care of those who were not in the direct path of her sunlight rune.

“Now will you listen to my plans?” she demanded with a crooked grin.

Jace shrugged, but the smirk on his face told her that he would at least consider it. For the next two wards, Clary took the lead in the fights.

***

White noise.

That was all that existed in Magnus' mind the second Daji separated them and chained him down. He could feel nothing other than panic. Whatever the other warlock was saying to Alec was barely a whisper in Magnus' head.

But then the noise faded. His vision grew scarlet around the edges, before his sight was veiled with red.

Magnus Bane could not feel his own limbs. He could barely feel the pulse of his own magic, and that was something he had always been aware of ever since he realized what it was. Instead, he felt like an empty vessel, and something oily and dark like liquid smoke was pouring into him.

That alien sensation crept into his veins and then uncoiled through his nerves. It suffused his every cell. A shiver danced from the base of his skull all the way down to his coccyx, and in its wake, a power that wasn't his own spread into his muscles.

 _What is happening?_ He wasn't panicking, but panic was hovering just out of reach. A little more and he'd be there.

Then he heard a familiar voice – his own, yet not his own. “I'm taking over. You're too weak to fight her.”

 _No, don't. I can do this. Let me do this._ Magnus glanced at Alec, and there it was – sheer panic – he was terrified that the Prince would harm his Alexander, or leave him to Daji's devices...

“Stay out of this,” the Prince warned, with Magnus' voice, layered with a demonic undertone that promised agony and torture.

***

Izzy, Simon, and Maia found the narrow crevice in the strange spiraling tower before Jace and Clary caught up to them. By then, all five were tired from fighting Ravener demons. Izzy nodded at Clary, and the latter started climbing up the rubble piled about the tower towards the crack.

“Not even Clary can go through that,” Jace pointed out unnecessarily.

Izzy rolled her eyes at him. “I know that. Hey, Clary, can you get a visual of the inside?”

The redhead gave them a thumbs up. “Clear enough.” She hopped down, landing expertly in Jace's arms, and then fished out her stele. “Alright, here we go.”

Then Jace seemed to catch on. “We're portaling inside.”

“And rescuing Alec and Magnus,” Izzy supplied, with a 'you-are-so-dumb-you're-lucky-you're-cute' smile directed solely at Jace.

Clary gasped. Before her, a portal had taken form in the wall. Simon brushed the back of his hand over the werewolf's cheek, and she caught his sleeve in her teeth affectionately. Once Clary announced that the portal was steady, the two Downworlders headed in.

Izzy followed them, before Jace hopped through as well. Finally, Clary stumbled in.

The room they were in resembled a cell, but the steel door was already jarred out of its frame, so it was only a matter of lifting it clear and tossing it aside. The path outside the room was a staircase, so narrow that even Clary would have to walk sideways up the steps, but they could heard wind, and fresher air was washing down the stairs.

They opted to have Maia lead the way, while she was in wolf-form, because she would be able to detect anyone coming for them. The rear was brought up by Simon, whose sensitive hearing demanded that the entire group remain as silent as possible if he wanted to hear anyone sneaking up behind them.

It was so narrow that Clary had a newfound respect for people with claustrophobia. She had to keep reminding herself to breathe normally, and to remember that she was not alone in this. At least the steps were not made of rock so old they crumbled at the touch, and the air was fresh.

The structure began to glow a sickly moon-white.

“I don't think rock is supposed to do that,” Simon remarked. There was something hard and cold in his voice, something that would have been unfamiliar to Clary except that she had spoken in that same tone to Valentine on the banks of the lake, just before she killed him.

Izzy, who was just in front of Clary, inscribed another rune on her forearm. Her eyes glowed blue for a second. “There's power flowing up the tower,” she said. “Pure magical energy drawn from the ley lines.”

“This tower is a conduit,” Jace said. “Guess the altar's right at the top.”

***

The metal bonds melted away. It was but the work of a moment to reach into the very fabric of the metal's being and remove the magic holding the atoms together. _Everything has memory, and magical constructs remember a time before they exist._

Prince Magnus kept his hands and feet where they were, for the moment. If he understood the situation right, this was not his body. This was not his world. This man before him – this beautiful young man, pinned to the wall by magic, this was not his Alexander.

His Alexander had lured Magnus in with his wiles and then betrayed him. They had made love and then the young man, that mortal slave had betrayed the prince.

Except his Alexander had not really lured the prince in, had he? It had been Magnus himself who wanted to possess all of his young nephilim slave, to make Alexander his own and no one else's; Alexander hadn't asked for Magnus' brand, and he certainly hadn't asked for Magnus to return sooner than expected...

His Alexander had been sleeping in the prince's bed instead of staying with his people on the night he knew Raziel would be raised, that vengeance would be called down...

His Alexander had known that, if Valentine Morgenstern hadn't succeeded in summoning the angel, then his life would have been forfeit. All their lives would have been forfeit.

And his Alexander had gone back to the prince's quarters, to wait.

Prince Magnus blinked away the anger and confusion in his mind. He wanted to go back, he wanted to return to his Alexander's side, to confront him and maybe to comfort him and possibly kill him. But he couldn't go back if this lesser Magnus, this weakling version of him didn't survive.

The good thing was, he could feel his father's demonic power lying in wait, ready for his use.

Daji had turned away from this Alexander, her fluffy tails sweeping behind her as she painted ancient sigils on the walls with a potion. Something to direct the eclipse's energy.

With a glance upwards, Magnus calculated the time left before the ritual. Less than twenty minutes now.

 _Father_ , he prayed, _wherever you are in this dimension, bless me with your infernal malevolence and guide my hands in victorious vengeance._

_Acheronta movebo. Gloria in excelsis Patri._

The painting of sigils took some time. Then Daji stepped into the center of the octagon. The hearts – hearts of children under ten years old, to Magnus' experienced eye – beat faster. The female warlock's fingers danced and twisted as she carved spells out of thin air. Her movements were raw and jagged as she shaped enchantments and spells with her gestures, all ancient, far before Magnus' time. Her face was turned up to face the moon, whose full, round face was starting to redden.

The floor beneath them started to glow. Magical energy suffused the air, and Magnus swallowed down the taste of ozone. Daji sighed with pleasure and her tails began waving lazily back and forth.

Behind his gag, Magnus smiled. It would be the full eclipse in less than ten minutes.

***

When Maia started loping up the stairs, the others had to run at full speed. It was near impossible to catch up – the werewolf dashed as if the very forces of hell were behind her. At the very top, they found her scrabbling at a large slab of green stone, with glowing words in that oracle-bone script engraved on it. There was no other way to go than the way they had come from.

“You know, I wish I'd taken Chinese as my language elective,” Simon mused. He was the only one on two legs who wasn't out of breath. Clary was leaning on Izzy, who was bent over as she panted, and even Jace was trying not to wheeze. Simon squeezed his way up front and soothed Maia. “Let me try something.”

“What do you plan to do?” Jace asked. His face was red with exertion.

“Well, for one thing, see what it does if I tried this.” Simon narrowed his eyes as he trailed his fingers over the surface of the stone before he punched it. The vampire was flung backwards into Jace, who managed to brace the both of them before they tumbled down the stairs.

Clary shook her head and sighed. “Simon, really?”

“Well, now we know not to do that.”

“Wait, Clary, remember the talismans Mrs Fu gave us to wrap about our weapons?” Izzy shook out her whip and peered at its handle. Then she carefully peeled a thin sheet of paper from it. “She said these were protection against old Chinese magic.”

The redhead brightened and peeled a talisman from the handle of one of her blades as well. “What's the worst that could happen?”

“You girls get flung back the way vamp boy just did,” Jace drawled. “Or the whole tower falls in on us.”

“Shut up.” Izzy threw the blond shadowhunter a glare. “I wonder how Alec ever had a crush on you.”

Jace raised an eyebrow and gestured at his body.

“Alec has a better body than you, babe,” said Clary, winking. She handed the talisman from her blade to Izzy.

“What?” Jace pretended outrage.

“Alas, he's gay, so I have to settle for second-best,” Clary teased, even as she hid behind her boyfriend while Izzy, braced by Maia behind her legs, placed the talismans on the door. She held Jace's hand tightly. Her banter hid her worry, and Jace squeezed her hand. For a heartbeat she just rested her forehead on his shoulder, knowing that Jace was even more concerned than he would ever admit.

The talismans, once set against the green stone, stayed stuck there. The red lines on the paper talismans glowed and then turned black, and angry red fissures appeared in the stone.

“I think we should all step back,”Simon suggested.

Izzy and Maia scurried down the steps, taking shelter behind Jace.

Jace looked down. “You're a fucking werewolf, Maia, you can take way more punishment than I can.”

Maia growled and bared her sharp teeth.

“Not saying another wor-”

The stone suddenly shattered. Luckily, Clary was alert and tugged Jace back against the wall. Large chunks flew past them, some missing their faces by barely an inch.

Once the dust settled, Maia once again led the way forward, this time into a stone cell with a steel door.

Simon sniffed. “They were here,” he told the others. A frown etched into the space between his eyebrows. “Demon?”

Izzy went to the steel door and shook it. It wouldn't open. She scrawled an unlocking rune on it and then pushed it again. This time, it swung open silently. On the other side was a little room, with a large raised platform piled high with furs and pillows, along with a narrow flight of stairs heading up.

The group trooped in, now silent. This was, presumably, Daji's bedroom. It was sparse, save for the bed, without any of the trappings they associated with comfort. Not even a window, and that made sense, since the entire structure was underground in the first place, but it was also really rather sad.

It was Jace who spotted Alec's bow and quiver leaning against a dark corner. He picked them up and slung them over his broad shoulders. “Come on, guys. My parabatai is probably about to do something really brave and stupid.”

 


	22. Chapter 22

Trapped as he was against the wall, Alec couldn't really crane his head to look at the moon overhead. He was fairly certain that the ritual was about to start though, judging by the way Daji had somehow fashioned a dagger out of nowhere and was heading towards Magnus.

Magnus looked up at her, unafraid. He blinked. His golden eyes practically glowed in the pale light shining from the floor.

 _Golden eyes?_ Magnus didn't like showing his warlock mark.

Alec's own eyes widened. This was not his Magnus.

Daji was only one step away from the bound warlock, her dagger raised, when Magnus abruptly surged to his feet and grabbed hold of her wrists. He shook his head and the gag dissipated into smoke.

Then sigils shimmered into being all over his skin, rows and rows of neat and unfamiliar runes, like he had been painted over by a calligrapher working in liquid gold. On the center of his brow was a symbol of an eye, with a slitted pupil.

“Surprise,” said Magnus, but his voice was not Magnus' voice. Something sinister was woven into it.

To her credit, Daji did not seem overly afraid. She wrested her hands free of Magnus' hold and stabbed at his chest again. Magnus danced out of the way with stunning grace, and then elbowed her in the small of her back. He fired off three bolts of vibrant purple magic at her, then called up a large spell in his right hand as she fended off the attack. Before he could fire his prepared spell, Daji had whipped another two arcs of white light at him.

“Shit! It's started?” Jace sprinted up to him, having come up from a hole in the ground, and used his stele to draw seraphic runes to counter the spells holding Alec to the wall. To Alec's relief, his parabatai had found his bow and arrows. Alec spared a glance for the Magnus who was not his Magnus, but once his hands were free and he had his feet on the floor, he took the bow and arrow from Jace. The instant he had his bow in his hand, Alec felt rejuvenated and ready to battle. He might be mostly naked, and his feet were cold as hell, but by the Angel, he was going to put at least one arrow through Daji.

Beside him, Jace squared his stance and twirled his blade.

“Hey, leave this to me.” Alec whispered, “Can Clary call up a portal?”

“Yes, she can, we portalled in downstairs.”

“Good. Have her make a portal back home.” At Jace's mutinous expression, Alec hissed, “I'm gonna grab Magnus and get us back also. Once she misses her window for the ritual-”

Shards of magic shot at the two shadowhunters and Alec instinctively returned fire. Daji bent backwards, as flexible as a gymnast, and another burst of magic flew at him before she returned her attention to Magnus. He was retreating, while Daji fired a barrage of magical spells at him. Already Alec could spot long streaks of blood on Magnus' arms and thighs where he hadn't been able to avoid the attacks.

At Alec's glare, Jace hurried back to where he had come from. A slab of stone tile had been shifted aside, so there had to be a ladder leading up here through the floor. Clary poked her head out and made a thumbs-up sign at Alec.

With that escape route prepared, Alec joined the fray.

***

Magnus hadn't enjoyed himself in battle in _centuries_. Daji was strong, and she held her own against him, even though he was wearing his father's marks as armor and was calling on his father's power. He could feel the tendrils of the ritual magic wrapped about him and Daji both; it recognized that there were two contenders for the power of the Dark Moon, and as long as they were still in battle within the ritual's altar, the eclipse would hold.

Alexander had found a bow and arrow _(his bow and arrow, the weak Magnus supplied)_ and ready to interfere. Magnus drew a circle around his right forearm with his left hand, conjuring a heavy mace at the end of his fist, and he slammed it into the floor.

“No!” Daji reached for the mystical energies and _pulled_ , keeping the assembled hearts from being dislodged. With a sneer, she shaped an orb of white lightning in her palms and blasted it at him. He dodged it, but not fast enough; he could smell singed skin where it had brushed past his cheek.

It didn't matter. Alexander already saw what Magnus was trying to convey. Instead of aiming his arrows at Daji, he fired the first through two small, beating hearts on the altar. The entire tower _shuddered._

Only then did Daji realize her error. She whipped about, sending shot after shot of magic at the nephilim, but Magnus intercepted each of her attacks, redirecting them towards whichever heart still remained. He could not get to Alexander's side, however; whenever he tried to head in the nephilim's direction, Daji would step between them.

Alec fired another arrow and dislodged three other hearts, kicking one all the way across the altar. The magic powering the ritual wavered.

“No!” Daji screamed again. Overhead, the eclipse began to pass. Magnus could taste the fading ozone on his tongue. Her attacks on Magnus redoubled in fury. “No, you will not take this from me!”

Magnus ducked and weaved, returning a volley whenever he could, but his borrowed power was fading, and the magic present in this Magnus' body was not strong enough to withstand Daji's assault all on its own.

“Alec, it's ready!” the redheaded girl – Clary? - shouted from a hole in the floor, away from the altar space.

That must have been the signal Alexander was waiting for. He fired off a slew of arrows at Daji, all of which she deflected with either her tails or an invisible shield. It didn't matter to Alexander anyway. “Magnus! Go with Clary now!”

Prince Magnus was perversely glad to be given the excuse to leave. He hadn't expected Daji to hold that much magic in her slender form, and to fight like she had nothing to live for. “What about you?”

“I'll finish her off!” Alexander called out. His keen gaze returned to the thwarted warlock woman.

“You'll finish me off?” Daji's beautiful eyes were wild. She was incandescent with wrath; her rage was pouring from her like the corona of the sun. “You? When I've already shown I could kill you a thousand times over?”

Alec grabbed one of the arrows he had fired earlier and shook it free of its gruesome target. “I do owe you a debt for your hospitality,” he said, with barely a hint of his own anger.

Daji placed her palms together in a prayer pose and bent her index and middle fingers, lacing them together, and then turning her wrists so her fingers pointed down. Alexander tried to interrupt her and was flung out of the way with a toss of one of her luxuriant tails; Magnus fared no better, thrown against the opposite side of the room.

That collision with the wall jarred Magnus' head, shaking his mind free of the influence of the Prince. He got to his feet and groaned. His ribs hurt and it was hard to breathe. Daji took one scathing look at him and then fired off the spell at the hole in the floor, where Clary and Jace and the others were waiting.

That side of the tower collapsed, leaving only open air.

Daji smiled humorlessly. “Let's hope they got out in time, hmm?”

***

The instant he realized that Daji was targeting them, Jace shoved Maia, Simon, and Izzy through the portal. Clary had to be the last to go since she had to maintain the portal's structural integrity, and Jace didn't want to leave her alone here.

However, when the walls and ceiling caved in, he had to grab Clary and jump right through the portal.

Not a moment too soon, it seemed, because he almost got his foot caught in the collapsing rubble.

Clary had opened the portal into Magnus' loft, where Catarina, Dot, and a little girl was. Upon seeing their ignominous return, the two warlock women stood.

“Are you okay?” Dot asked Clary after helping her up. Clary nodded and hugged her.

“What happened?” Catarina wanted to know.

The little girl stayed where she was playing with a plastic pony. “Where's Magnus?”

***

Alec _knew_ Jace was alright, since his parabatai rune wasn't tearing itself apart, but it didn't change the fact that his heart nearly stopped when Daji deliberately collapsed that side of the tower.

“Alec watch out!”

Daji took advantage of the shadowhunter's inattention to capture him with magic once again. This time, she held him up with magic by the throat and floated him upwards and then, terrifyingly, out through the collapsed side, leaving him to hover in open air. Then she turned to smile at Magnus. “So, Magnus Bane. Shall we bargain?”

“Magnus, no,” Alec gritted out. He could hardly breathe. He didn't dare to struggle, for there was literally nothing to break his fall should Daji let go. The ground was so far away.

***

Magnus now knew what it meant to have his blood run cold. He had nothing left to fight with. His own resources of magic were almost empty, and even the demonic energies Asmodeus had forced on him was gone. The Prince was helpless too, constrained by the lack of magical power. Without prompting, he dropped to his knees.

He'd seen Alec nearly fall once. He definitely did not want to see it again.

“Please, don't,” he whispered. “Don't hurt my Alexander.”

Daji tilted her head. Wind tossed her long hair, messing the tresses into a wild, flowing mane. She looked demented yet stunningly beautiful in the light of the full moon. “He killed my sister. _You_ killed my sister. And you took away my one chance – three thousand years I've waited, after being _defiled_ by that man, again and again, after being called a demoness, being sealed underground in stasis, left to be forgotten – you two took _everything_ from me.”

She let go of Alec.

How Magnus managed that last bit of magic he would never know. With one hand he conjured a net to catch Alec, and with the other he threw Daji into the wall with so much force, he heard dozens of bones crack.

When Magnus had pulled Alec back onto firmer ground, the magic fell away and his knees buckled. Alec caught him before he could fold onto the cracked floor, where small human hearts lay scattered. They were no longer beating.

“I got you,” Magnus whispered. Every nerve felt overexposed. He was a hollow shell, but Alec was here. Alec was safe. They were both safe.

“I got you,” Alec said, his face wet with tears. “Babe, you saved me, you goddamn hero.”

“I got her too,” Magnus said. Drawing on Alec's strength, he found himself standing up, with his boyfriend's aid, and they made their way slowly to the broken form of Su Daji.

She was sprawled like a discarded doll, head lolling to one side. She was still breathing, and the enmity in her glare was no less potent for all that she was helpless now.

Alec dropped to one knee. “If you surrender to the authority of the Clave, I will see that you get a fair trial,” he said. Magnus knew that it was not what Alec wanted, but as head of the New York Institute of shadowhunters, Alec had his responsibilities and he was an honorable man. “Just say the word and I will help you.”

Magnus loved him so much his heart ached.

Daji smiled mockingly. Blood was trickling from her lips and nose, and her eyes were bloodshot. “人生自古谁无死？至少我苏妲己已千古留名。”

Unsure of what she said, Alec turned to ask Magnus, only to feel something cold as ice stab through his side. He looked down at his waist to see Daji's dagger buried in his side, almost up to the hilt.

“Magnus?” he said, before he toppled over in a faint.

Everything in Magnus went deadly quiet. Even the prince was shocked into silence. Magnus fell to his knees to cradle his lover in his arms. He knew better than to pull out the dagger, but leaving it in there was not a solution either, and he had no way to get Alec to a hospital in time.

Daji laughed, her own blood bubbling with every breath and choking her. “Your boyfriend's... going to die,” she murmured, eyes closing. Her breath was wet and there was a hitch of pain with every inhalation. “He's going... to die with me. You really... should have just... let me kill you.”

Something in Magnus snapped. He laid Alec flat, safely away from the edge, and walked over to hit her in the face with his bare fists.

And he hit.

And he hit.

And hit.

And hit.

And hit.

And hit.

And hit.

At last he staggered back, his knuckles bloody and sore and wet and sticky, and tears streamed down his cheeks. By then, Daji was no longer breathing.

She barely looked human.

Bile rose in Magnus' throat and he turned away. He never liked violence, but that – that had felt  _good_ , it had felt right, and it had been him striking a helpless woman.

_ A helpless woman who stabbed Alexander. _

To his horror, Alec was not breathing either. Magnus rushed to him and helped him sit up. “Alexander, Alec, baby, please Alexander, don't die on me, not yet, not now, I'm not ready for this  _I'm not ready for this_ Alec Alec please, please baby, please angel, darling open your eyes, open your eyes don't die don't-” He lay his head on Alec's chest. There it was, the beautiful, glorious sound of a heartbeat, but it was faint, too faint, and slowing.

Magnus could feel his limbs going numb. He was centuries old and he was entirely at a loss. “No, no, angel, baby, no not now not yet baby, God, please no, what can I do, what can I do? Alec, Alexander, you can't leave me like this, I don't know what to do-”

The pendant at his neck grew hot. The wind picked up and stung his wet eyes.

Magnus closed a fist around it.  _Yes. Yes, you promised. You promised._

“Asmodeus, I need you here, you have to save Alec,” he called out to the howling wind.

Nothing replied.

“Asmodeus!”

Still nothing.

“Father,” Magnus pleaded. “Father, father, we had a deal, you promised. You promised me you would get him home safely, you _said_ so.”

Nothing.

Magnus squeezed the pendant so hard he thought he might shatter it. His knuckles bled anew, and the cuts from the battle were stinging from the wind. He thought he could feel Alexander growing colder in his arms.

“Papa _, please!_ ” Magnus wept. 

A firm hand landed gently on his shoulder. Asmodeus' low voice was as warm as a banked fire. “My dear boy.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's the end!
> 
> ...and an epilogue :)
> 
> 人生自古谁无死？至少我苏妲己已千古留名。  
> \- Who in history has not died? At least I, Su Daji, have left my mark.


	23. Epilogue

When Alec woke up, it was in his own bed.

His mother and father were there, and Maryse covered her mouth once she saw that Alec had noticed them.

“Mom, dad,” he said, voice raspy. His eyelids felt extremely heavy. “Where's everyone?”

Robert smiled. “They're just outside.” He went to the door and opened it.

Izzy and Jace rushed in first, followed, more tentatively, by Clary and, surprisingly, Underhill. Izzy sat down on the side of his bed and took his hand – the one without a ring – and squeezed. “We went back once we could. Daji's dead.” There was a vindictive glee in her voice.

Alec vaguely remembered the sounds of flesh striking flesh repeatedly.

“Simon, Maia, Luke and Raphael send their regards,” Jace said, before he hugged Alec. “I'm glad you're alright. You were in some kinda coma. Daji's last strike, I suppose.”

“We'll have Catarina check on you again as soon as she can.” Clary nodded as she came up to stand next to Jace. “So how do you feel?”

“I feel fine, just exhausted.” Alec paused. “Where's Magnus?”

Everyone looked uneasy.

Alec forced himself to sit up. “Where's Magnus? What happened to him?”

No one wanted to meet his eye. Eventually, Jace sat down on the other side of the bed and clasped his forearm, parabatai to parabatai.

“Alec, you've been yelling for Magnus for a full week,” he said.

“Where is he?” Alec repeated.

“Alec,” Jace said, very quietly, as if they were at a funeral, “we don't know anyone called Magnus.”

“Is this a joke?” Alec let go of Jace. “Magnus! Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn! He's my boyfriend!”

Underhill, who had been standing a little ways off, turned pale, and then blotches of red filled his cheeks. He nodded at Robert and Maryse before leaving the room.

“Where's he going? Is this some joke? Is Magnus outside?”

“There is no one called Magnus Bane in all of Brooklyn,” Maryse stated harshly. “Alec, you're with _Steve_. You fought with us in front of the entire institute when we forbade you to date, and now you claim some... some _warlock_ is your boyfriend?”

“Steve? Who the hell is Steve?”

“Steve Underhill! The man who has been watching over you and worried sick since you were taken by Daji!” Isabelle shouted. “For God's sake, Alec, how could you be so cruel to Steve? Whoever Magnus is, he's not real, okay? And now that you're awake, maybe you can get better and then make it up to him for this whole stupid 'Magnus' thing.”

Robert shushed his daughter. “Alright, he's just woken up from a traumatic experience and needs to recuperate. Now, everyone out. I'm sure whatever hallucination he suffered while abducted by Daji will pass. Everyone out.”

They left the room. Maryse kissed Alec's forehead and Robert patted his shoulder reassuringly.

Alec waited until he was alone before he turned the ring on his left hand. There was a memory inside, Magnus had told him. A memory that was so precious to Magnus that he entrusted Alec with it.

And now, it appeared that only Alec remembered Magnus Bane.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes there is a sequel

**Author's Note:**

> [Please buy my original novel!](https://www.akleewrites.com/)


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